Judiciary Passes PATRIOT Act Amendments; Reauthorizes Needed Provisions While Protecting Privacy and Freedom

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) today applauded the Committee’s favorable reporting of H.R. 3845, the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009.  The bill reauthorizes certain expiring provisions of the Patriot Act while making modifications to improve the freedom of Americans and oversight of intelligence programs.

"With several provisions of the Patriot Act expiring at the end of this year, we have the opportunity to fix the most extreme provisions of that law and provide a better balance," said Conyers.  "Our legislation passed today preserves government legal powers where they are needed most, but reins in some of the most problematic aspects of existing law.  This bill greatly protects the privacy and freedom of Americans, while preserving critical surveillance powers and operations."

The primary changes:

• Under the bill, the government will no longer be able to use national security letters to demand information merely by claiming it is "relevant" to national security.  Instead, the government must have concrete facts showing that the information is connected to a terrorist or foreign agent before issuing a national security letter to get it.


• Additionally, the unnecessary "lone wolf" provision is allowed to sunset. This provision has never been used and intelligence experts believe the information can be obtained through ordinary warrants.


• Finally, this bill includes important new reporting, audit, and oversight provisions that will ensure Congress will continue to get the information needed for real congressional oversight of the executive’s surveillance operations.

H.R. 3845, the USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009, was successfully reported by the House Judiciary Committee by a 16-10 vote.