Modest Changes In Patriot Act


	Print or Email This Page Modest Changes In Patriot Act Dec. 6, 2005 Hartford Courant Editorial Surely Congress will not allow the USA Patriot Act to expire on Dec. 31. National security requires that the government be given the necessary tools to guard against terrorism. But before renewing the four-year-old act, lawmakers should give it careful scrutiny. The House didn't do that when it approved its version of a new Patriot Act earlier this year. That careful review is now taking place in the Senate, where lawmakers from both parties are recommending modest but sensible changes. The senators are being encouraged by an unusual coalition that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Civil Liberties Union. Their alliance is based on the healthy premise that individual privacy is too cherished a right to leave completely in the hands of government. If the House bill passed the Senate intact, it would permanently empower federal agents to obtain business, Internet and library records of any citizen with minimal court review. Agents invoking "national security" do not have to explain to a judge how the information they want is connected with spies, terrorists or any foreign agents. The feds merely send a "National Security Letter" to a judge, who reviews the request in secret. Some 30,000 such letters are going out every year, according to a report in The Washington Post. Under the House legislation, companies and libraries, among other institutions, would continue to be forbidden to say anything about the government's search mission. Also, the government could send agents on so-called sneak-and-peak searches of private homes, take pictures and seize items without informing the target. They inform targets within a week now because courts require it. Requiring that agents show judges, in secret, why they need the data on citizens from companies, libraries and Internet service providers would better safeguard our liberties than simply informing judges that someone is believed to be a threat. "We're trying to free the business community from voluminous demands for records," explains a spokesman for the U.S. Chamber. Businesses worry about liability lawsuits as well. Among corporate icons supporting the changes are ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical and Xerox. Consensus exists to renew the Patriot Act, but it should be possible to protect fundamental freedoms and renew the law as well before year's end.
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