Senator Murkowski Encourages Congressional Passage of Modified Patriot Act
SENATOR MURKOWSKI ENCOURAGES CONGRESSIONAL PASSAGE OF MODIFIED PATRIOT ACT
Saying that the Senate passed version of the Patriot Act should pass Congress, Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined with Sens. John Sununu (R-NH), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today to encourage conferees to adopt the Senate's modified bill - a version of the bill which addresses concerns about government encroachment of civil liberties.
In July, the Senate unanimously passed the reauthorization of certain portions of the Patriot Act set to expire this year. "When you think about those pieces of legislation that can come through with unanimous support, you typically don't think about something as controversial as the Patriot Act," Murkowski said. "What came out of the Senate is nothing short of remarkable. The compromises that we reached are common sense provisions that achieve the balance between law enforcement flexibility and protection of civil liberties."
In 2003, Murkowski was the first Senator to introduce legislation (S.1522, the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act) modifying the Patriot Act based on widespread Alaskan concerns regarding the possible infringement of civil liberties.
"We want to make sure that we have the enforcement tools necessary to secure our country but we must maintain protection of the civil liberties we value," Murkowski said. "The Senate provisions struck that balance and I encourage the conferees to accept our version and help achieve the result that we have agreed upon here in the Senate."
The Senate passed version of the Patriot Act address the following:
Concerns over Section 215 of the Act, which authorizes the federal government to obtain "any tangible item" from any entity. The Senate-passed legislation requires that the government must provide a statement of fact, and demonstrate a need as to why personal records being sought are needed to obtain intelligence information. Specifies that a court order must describe tangible items being sought by the government. In other words, authorizing orders cannot provide for a fishing expedition. The government must know what it is looking for before a court order will be approved. Individuals are also given the right to challenge a Section 215 order in court and can consult an attorney for legal advice - rights not currently available. Requires that if the location for surveillance is not known, and the identity of the target is not known, then any order permitting surveillance must describe a specific target. This addresses the concern that "John Doe" roving authority might be used to monitor persons described too generically (ie: a "Caucasian male" or an "Asian woman"). Concerns over sneak and peek issues, requiring that notice of a search must be given no later than seven days after its execution. Additional delays may be granted on a case-by-case basis only if good cause is shown.
http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=247698