Who was it who told me I was making a mountain of a mole hill in regards to
the PATRIOT act? I remember decrying it's freedom stripping properties, and
calling it 'the first step toward a fascist USA' (or something similar)...
I was subsequently castigated and told that it was a neccessary, and
temporary evil... temporary, due to the sunset clause that generally applies
to these kinds of war-time laws.

Guess what?

=====================

House votes to extend Patriot Act

Who was it who told me I was making a mountain of a mole hill in regards
to the PATRIOT act? I remember decrying it's freedom stripping
properties, and calling it 'the first step toward a fascist USA' (or
something similar)... I was subsequently castigated and told that it was
a neccessary, and temporary evil... temporary, due to the sunset clause
that generally applies to these kinds of war-time laws.

Guess what?

=====================

House votes to extend Patriot Act

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/21/congress.patriotact.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House voted Thursday to extend the USA Patriot
Act, the nation's main anti-terrorism tool, just hours after televisions
in the Capitol beamed images of a new attack in London.
As similar legislation worked its way through the Senate, House
Republicans generally cast the law as a valuable asset in the war on
terror. Most Democrats echoed that support but said they were concerned
the law could allow citizens' civil liberties to be infringed.

Following more than nine hours of debate, the House approved the measure
257-171. Forty-three Democrats joined 214 Republicans in voting to renew
key provisions of Patriot Act that were set to expire at the end of the
year.

The bulk of the back-and-forth centered on language making permanent 14
of 16 provisions that had four-year sunset provisions under the original
law, which Congress passed overwhelmingly after the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks.

The bill also proposed 10-year extensions to the two other provisions
set to expire on December 31, one allowing roving wiretaps and another
allowing searches of library and medical records. They were the focus of
most of the controversy as members plowed through the main legislation
and 18 amendments.

"While the Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism initiatives have helped
avert additional attacks on our soil, the threat has not receded," said
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, said
that while "I support the majority of the 166 provisions of the Patriot
Act," the extensions could lessen accountability. "Ten years is not a
sunset; 10 years is semi-permanent," he said.

The Bush administration hailed the vote.

"After measured deliberation and a public debate, the House has again
provided the brave men and women of law enforcement with critical tools
in their efforts to combat terrorism and protect the American people,
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a statement.

As the House debated the legislation, the Senate Judiciary Committee
approved its own extension of the bill, though it included only
four-year extensions for the roving wiretap and records search
provisions.

A competing bill also has been approved by the Senate Intelligence
Committee, which would give the FBI expanded powers to subpoena records
without the approval of a judge or grand jury. That ensured further
Senate talks on the terrorism-fighting measure. The House legislation
will also have to be reconciled with whatever emerges from the Senate.

The House debate included frequent references to the attacks earlier in
the day, two weeks after larger London blasts that killed 56, including
four suicide bombers.

The roving wiretap provision, Section 206, allows investigators to
obtain warrants to intercept a suspect's phone conversations or Internet
traffic without limiting it to a specific phone or identifying the
suspect. The records provision, Section 215, authorizes federal
officials to obtain "tangible items" such as business, library and
medical records.

Advocates argued that such powers already exist in criminal
investigations so they should be expressly continued for terrorism
investigations. They also cited safeguards in the bill, such as a
requirement that a judge approve the records search.

One amendment, passed by a 402-26 vote, requires the FBI director to
personally approve any request for library or bookstore records.

Another successful amendment sets a 20-year jail term for an attack
against a rail or mass-transit vehicle; a 30-year sentence if the
vehicle carries nuclear material; and life imprisonment -- with the
possibility of the death penalty -- if anyone is killed in such an
attack.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Michigan, a former FBI agent, recalled using such
tools in gang and child molestation investigations.

"All we do in the Patriot Act is say, `Look, if we can go after child
molesters sitting in the library and bombers who we need to
sneak-and-peek on a warrant, we ought to be able to go after
terrorists,"' he said.

Critics heralded the bulk of the existing law, but said the sunsets were
wisely inserted amid the inflamed passions following the September 11
attacks, and should be retained to assess the long-term impact of the
law.

"Periodically revisiting the Patriot Act is a good thing," said Rep.
Martin Meehan, D-Massachusetts. "The Patriot Act was an effort to answer
the most difficult question a democracy faces: How much freedom are we
willing to give up to feel safe?"

Democrats were incensed after Republican leaders blocked consideration
of an amendment that would have blocked the library searches. The House
approved identical language last month in a test vote.

"If you don't like it, come up and speak against it," said Rep. Bernie
Sanders, I-Vermont, who sponsored the amendment. "But it has passed once
and it would likely pass again."