Publishers Weekly reports that the Campaign for Reader Privacy is outraged by the "signing statement" Bush issued in connection with the reauthorized USA Patriot Act.
"It is simply outrageous," said Oren Teicher, COO of the American Booksellers Association, "that the President thinks he can choose the sections of the law he wants to enforce and ignore the rest."
The CRP, a joint initiative of the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, the PEN American Center, and the Association of American Publishers, had battled for new provisions in the reauthorized Patriot Act that would ensure more Congressional oversight on the administration of the law.
Teicher, calling the oversight provisions "an important safeguard in protecting reader privacy," says the ABA will urge booksellers to communicate their opinions to the White House and their congressional representatives. The CRP will remain organized and is discussing further action.
Pat Schroeder, AAP president and CEO, said, "The heavy-handed assertion by the White House that it unilaterally decides what to tell Congress about enforcing the Patriot Act should make members of Congress mad enough to re-energize the fight to restore basic civil liberties protections. As far as we're concerned, that fight is far from over."