The US Congress will begin to hold committee hearings this week on reauthorizing three sections of the USA PATRIOT Act that are set to expire at the end of the year. A handful of progressive Democrats are not only opposed to reauthorization but are steadfast in pushing for sweeping changes to the legislation.
The three sections up for reauthorization are warrants authorizing roving wiretaps (used about 140 times from 2004-09), warrants allowing the seizure of “any tangible things” relevant to an investigation (used more than 250 times from 2004-09), and the provision allowing a warrant authorizing a wiretap on a single suspect not connected to any foreign terrorist group or government (never used from 2004-09).
Already Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), John Tester (D-Montana), Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), and Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) have introduced the Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts Act of 2009—the JUSTICE Act (.pdf; 147KB). The proposed legislation would impose safeguards on the federal government’s surveillance powers and would revoke the retroactive immunity granted to the telecommunications companies that participated in George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program. Specifically the bill would ban the “bulk collection” of foreign telephone calls coming into the US.
The JUSTICE Act takes particular aim at the provision of the USA PATRIOT Act, mandating the “least intrusive means” of information collection and Congressional oversight of the use of National Security Letters.
While President Obama initially opposed retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies, he later voted in favor of immunity while a US Senator. He also voted to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act with amendments clarifying individual rights to challenge FISA nondisclosure requirements. He also voted against extending to roving wiretaps provision of the USA PATRIOT Act which kept the USA PATRIOT ACT from becoming permanent law.
As the ink was drying on the JUSTICE Act, the Obama administration called for reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act in a letter from Ronald Weich (.pdf; 2.7MB), assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). It’s doubtful Obama will support the JUSTICE Act.
The part of this that I find mindboggling is that the US neopopulists (as opposed to the legitimate neopopulism movement in Latin America) and conservatives support the USA PATRIOT Act and will almost certainly oppose the JUSTICE Act. One of the core principles that seems to bind together all of the various neopopulists, conservatives, and right wingnuts is freedom from government intervention, justice, and right to be left alone.
I’ll start taking these poseur neopopulists seriously when they start burning their Medicare cards and Social Security checks.
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