Senate Republicans Craft Patriot Act Deal

By Richard Cowan
Reuters

Thursday 09 February 2006

Washington - Senate Republicans reached a deal with the White House on Thursday that would likely clear the way for renewing the USA Patriot Act, a key element of President Bush's war on terror.

While some Democrats were quick to portray the deal as failing to address civil liberties concerns adequately, several Republicans and Democrats who had earlier balked at renewing the law gave their support now that some revisions had been accepted by the White House.

First enacted after the September 11 attacks, the Patriot Act expanded law enforcement authorities' ability to conduct wiretaps and secret searches and share information.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said the deal appeared to be "a step in the right direction."

The Republican accord would make permanent a number of key provisions of the act that are set to expire March 10.

"It is much less likely that a filibuster would be sustained under these circumstances," said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, who is in the Democratic leadership and intends to vote for the new compromise.

One change to the law accepted by Senate Republicans and the White House would allow individuals to challenge gag orders when they have been subpoenaed to produce sensitive information on library, medical, education or gun-related records.

Another change would clarify that traditional libraries would not be subjected to special subpoenas, which are not issued by judges, to gain records.

A group of Republican and Democratic senators combined in December to stage a Patriot Act renewal filibuster, a procedural move that blocked a vote on the bill.

Since then, Congress approved short-term extensions of the law.

"White House nay-saying and partisanship have obstructed this from becoming the better bill that it should be and that is deeply regrettable," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan countered that the agreement that has been reached "will continue to build upon the civil liberties protections that are in place but do so in a way that doesn't compromise our national security priorities within this legislation."

Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who led efforts for revisions, said the Republican proposal had only had "minor changes" that do "not address the major problems with the Patriot Act." He called the Republican-backed version a "one-sided 'deal'" and "unacceptable."

But Feingold had worked closely with Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, who on Thursday said he would support the new language.

Sununu on Thursday acknowledged the new compromise had "places where we could do better." He said a bipartisan group of senators would work on such concerns over the long term.

Civil liberties experts have criticized the law for making it too easy for the government to obtain individuals' private records, including medical and library records.

The fight over the Patriot Act comes as Bush is under attack from Democrats for conducting domestic surveillance without warrants.

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Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro

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