Senate Delays Patriot Act Vote

An attempt to force the renewal of the U.S.A. Patriot Act to a final vote in the Senate Friday failed because of bipartisan concern about civil liberties violations. Of particular concern was the ability of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to demand patron information from libraries and other organizations, a capacity that has generated concern in the Harvard community in recent years.

With several provisions of the original act due to expire on Dec. 31, the situation in the Senate is tense and uncertain, Associate Professor of Government Barry C. Burden said, especially since Congress has usually adjourned for the holidays by this point in the year.

The House of Representatives passed the act last Wednesday, but Friday’s 52-47 vote in the Senate failed to gain the support of 60 senators needed to invoke cloture, which would block a filibuster by setting a limit on debate.

Four Republicans joined all but two of the Senate Democrats in voting against the measure. Much of their criticism focused on sections of the Patriot Act that outline the criteria under which the FBI can demand patron records from libraries, businesses, and other organizations, according to statements the senators released over the last few days.

The senators opposing the version of the act up for debate said the current criteria are much too permissive. They say they want the FBI to be forced to demonstrate nected to a suspected terrorist or spy. Right now, the act only requires that the information be relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.

Senators also argued that recipients of National Security Letter (NSL) information requests, who are banned from ever speaking about them, should be able to meaningfully challenge this gag order in court. In the version of the Patriot Act under discussion, recipients can argue against the gag order, but the court must accept a government official’s testimony in favor of secrecy as conclusive.

Harvard’s Senior Director of Federal and State Relations Kevin Casey said he was glad there has been debate over these sections of the act.

Since the original Patriot Act was passed hastily in the shadow of September 11, Casey said, a reevaluation of the act’s provisions is pressing.

“We are pleased that our senators and others are focusing, as you hope they would on reauthorization, on the key issues...that have been a concern all along,” he said.

Casey said he has been working quietly with the Association of American Universities and Massachusetts Senators Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56 and John F. Kerry towards revisions of sections of the Patriot Act that they find problematic.

“We’re holding out for stronger safeguards,” Casey said.

Casey added that what action the Senate will take on the Patriot Act in the next few days is unclear.

Some senators support temporarily renewing the Patriot Act to make time for substantive debate, while others hope to vote on a version of the act that resembles the one that the Senate passed unanimously this summer.

But the House, which Burden characterized as more partisan and extreme, may not be open to the Senate’s version of the act.

According to Burden, leaving the renewal of the Patriot Act to days before its expiration has been characterized as political brinksmanship intended to pressure moderates with some reservations to pass the measure.

If so, Burden said, the tactic clearly backfired with the failure of the cloture vote.

But the increased pressure now may be exactly what Congress needs to resolve controversy on aspects of the Patriot Act, Burden said.

Like many students, Burden said, Congress needs deadlines to get things done.

“This week is sort of like the night before the test,” Burden said.

—Staff writer Lois E. Beckett can be reached at lbeckett@fas.harvard.edu.