What a difference a week makes. House Republican leaders lowered the bar and won approval for extension of the Patriot Act -- complete with its roving wiretaps provision -- one week after the bill was rejected by the same body.
The difference: This time the bill, which passed on 275-144 vote Monday, needed only a simple majority to advance -- not the two-thirds super-majority required last week when House Speaker John Boehner attempted to zip it through on a fast-track procedure.
It authorizes the FBI to use move wiretaps around on investigative targets without getting multiple court orders, gives the government access to tangible items such as library records in certain international terrorism cases, and allows surveillance of lone wolf suspects not linked to any specific terrorist group.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a leading critic, said the three surveillance provisions, approved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, were given sunsets in recognition of their far-reaching and unprecedented powers. The law, he said, effectively allows government to carry out domestic surveillance and demand material from people not connected to any terrorism investigation, including librarians and peace groups. Yet [the surveillance sections] have been extended . . . without any reform.
Boehner, making sure the controversial measure went through all of its readings and other regimens, found the votes he needed Monday night, with 65 Democrats joining with most Republicans, the Washington Post reported.
Democratic opponents had tried to kick the bill back to the House Judiciary Committee to add language assuring that intelligence probes of U.S. citizens are conducted in a manner that complies with the Constitution of the United States. That motion failed, although it got the support from two Republicans: Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Walter Jones of North Carolina. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Link: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/0...es-house-with-wiretap-authority-a-week-after/
The difference: This time the bill, which passed on 275-144 vote Monday, needed only a simple majority to advance -- not the two-thirds super-majority required last week when House Speaker John Boehner attempted to zip it through on a fast-track procedure.
It authorizes the FBI to use move wiretaps around on investigative targets without getting multiple court orders, gives the government access to tangible items such as library records in certain international terrorism cases, and allows surveillance of lone wolf suspects not linked to any specific terrorist group.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a leading critic, said the three surveillance provisions, approved in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, were given sunsets in recognition of their far-reaching and unprecedented powers. The law, he said, effectively allows government to carry out domestic surveillance and demand material from people not connected to any terrorism investigation, including librarians and peace groups. Yet [the surveillance sections] have been extended . . . without any reform.
Boehner, making sure the controversial measure went through all of its readings and other regimens, found the votes he needed Monday night, with 65 Democrats joining with most Republicans, the Washington Post reported.
Democratic opponents had tried to kick the bill back to the House Judiciary Committee to add language assuring that intelligence probes of U.S. citizens are conducted in a manner that complies with the Constitution of the United States. That motion failed, although it got the support from two Republicans: Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Walter Jones of North Carolina. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Link: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/0...es-house-with-wiretap-authority-a-week-after/
