Senate Passes Patriot Act

ALA favors Senate over House measure

By Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 9/1/2005

Scrambling at the last minute to wrap up several pieces of key legislation before going on summer recess, the Senate July 29 approved an extension of the Patriot Act, which is more favorable to libraries than the House version approved July 21, according to the American Library Association (ALA). The group has been lobbying to win passage of a measure that would soften some of the provisions of the existing law.

Under the Senate bill, in which 14 of the act’s 16 provisions were made permanent, the so-called library clause (Section 215) would expire after four years. That means that Congress would have to reauthorize secret library searches after the four-year period elapses or they would no longer be in force. The House decided to extend the library provision for a full 10 years.

Emily Sheketoff, ALA’s Washington office executive director, says the Senate bill is “much more protective of reader privacy” than the House’s.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Patriot Act was enacted in order to give law enforcement officials tools to track down potential terrorists. But library, bookseller, and civil liberties groups have raised alarm bells over some of the act’s provisions, which they say invade patrons’ privacy. The act allows secret searches of library and bookseller records during terrorism investigations. Bush Administration officials contend that the act’s search powers are necessary in order to stop potential terrorist attacks.

The House bill says the FBI can search bookstore and library records of anyone, including people who are not suspects, if they are considered “relevant” to terrorism probes. The Senate bill, however, requires the FBI to demonstrate that there are “facts” relevant to the investigation.