House OKs bill making Patriot Act permanent (ouch)

[genieroze]

House OKs bill making Patriot Act permanent

Toni Locy
USA TODAY
July 22, 2005
WASHINGTON - The House passed a bill Thursday night that would make permanent several controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act, a sweeping anti-terrorism and anti-crime law that Congress passed in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The House, which approved the measure 257-171, began debate shortly after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved its own version of the bill.

Both bills would make permanent 14 of 16 Patriot Act provisions set to expire Dec. 31. Both would also extend "sunsets," or expiration dates, for two other provisions - one dealing with wiretaps and the other with seizures of library and medical records.

Unlike the House bill, the Senate committee wants more proof of a suspect's terrorism connections before federal agents could obtain personal information. The committee also wants to eliminate a gag order provision that prohibits any business from speaking about an FBI request for information.

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050722/NEWS11/507220335/1208

[Sandpiper]

1. RIP Fourth Amendment

You will be missed.

[wli]

2. not the only one

IIRC the USA PATRIOT Act took out 4 amendments at once, though I can't remember which.

[genieroze]

3. 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th? Just a guess

[Rex]

4. It's official, we live in a police state.

congrats America!