Congress is falling all over itself to deny us every Constitutional protection we have. The Senate Intelligence Committee SECRETLY approved this abomination. Why is the FBI so afraid of having to go to a judge for a search warrant? This needs to be repealed altogether. To think even Senate Democrats are a part of this is maddening. THE PATRIOT ACT NEEDS TO GO!
"Senate Intelligence Committee approves new FBI powers in Patriot Act"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-06-07-congress-patriot-act_x.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI would get expanded powers to subpoena records without the approval of a judge or grand jury in terrorism investigations under Patriot Act revisions approved Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Some senators who voted 11-4 to move the bill forward said they would push for limits on the new powers the measure would grant to law enforcement agencies.
"This bill must be amended on the floor to protect national security while protecting Constitutional rights," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.
Ranking Democrat Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., supported the bill overall but said he would push for limits that would allow such administrative subpoenas "only if immediacy dictates."
Rockefeller and other committee members, such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also are concerned that the bill would grant powers to federal law enforcement agencies that could be used in criminal inquiries rather than intelligence-gathering ones.
Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said the bill places new checks and balances on the powers it would grant, such as new procedures that would allow people to challenge such administrative orders. He called the Patriot Act "a vital tool in the war on terror" and lauded the Democrats who voted for it in spite of misgivings.
Portions of the Patriot Act -- signed into law six weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks -- are set to expire at the end of 2005. The bill would renew and expand the act.
The bill also must be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Feinstein and other Democrats planned to again offer amendments.
Overall, Rockefeller said, the committee gave a nod to most of the Patriot Act in its first few years fighting the nation's new enemies.
"We concluded that these tools have helped keep America safe ... and should be made permanent," Rockefeller said in a statement.
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