Our February 16 letter urged you to contact Senators Cantwell and Murray and Representative Larsen to insist that they vote against reauthorization of three Patriot Act provisions due to “sunset” on February 28, 2011: Section 215 allows the FBI secretly to order anyone to produce business records or any other “tangible things”, Section 206 allows the FBI to wire tap phones and internet connections of individuals not involved in a crime, and Section 214 allows FBI surveillance of foreign persons, not affiliated with a terrorist group, who used a device(s) of an entity under investigation.
The sunset provisions recentlywere extended for 90 days for more debate. Senator Cantewell voted yes, but we were unable to obtain an explanation from her office. In contrast, Senator Murray voted no and her office stated, ?Because the bill does not go far enough to prevent abuses to civil liberties?. Representative Larsen voted no and issued the following statement: “As recently as last week, I voted to extend three provisions of the Patriot Act, but I can do so no longer. The failure of these provisions to pass last week has given me a bit more time to consider my position. The thing that has changed in the last week when I voted for the extension of the Patriot Act revisions is: Enough. *Enough of extending these provisions without anything but what amounts to a pro forma debate about the balance between security and privacy; *Enough of the delay in developing an appropriate Congressional oversight mechanism of the Patriot Act implementation; *Enough of the extension of the business records provision that allows warrants for everything from what books you check out of the library to the books you buy. It is still possible that I could vote for a Patriot Act reauthorization in the future, but it will depend upon what it looks like. So, yes. I did change my position from what it was last week. But this has been something I have contemplated for some time. It is always the right time to do the right thing.”
Please contact Senator Murry (202-224-2621) and Representative Larsen (202-225-2605) and thank them for standing with civil liberties.
Steering Committee
San Juan Island Chapter
ACLU of Washington
