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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Civil liberty on the line in Congress
  • Sec 215 extended for 77 days
  • Civil liberties advocates, including Republican Sens, condemn move

Many Americans' rights are at risk under the guise of national security. For example, Big Brother can “obtain” or “derive” information that can be used against you in court under Section 215 of the Patriot Act without you knowing about it.
The Senate on Monday agreed to pass a temporary continuation of this and two other nearly expired national security tools so it could spend more time debating a broad overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The measure increases the national security tools controlled by FISA for 77 days. It passed without intervening action or debate.
Senators were set to reauthorize the freedom-robbing national security tools controlled by FISA, which lapsed Sunday after a contentious debate in the House last week. The bill, SB 3501, was quickly condemned by civil liberties advocates, including Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul.
They requested a substantial overhaul of FISA since revelations confirmed last year the FBI had abused its surveillance powers to monitor Trump campaign figure Carter Page as part of its Russian election interference probe.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found 17 significant inaccuracies and omissions in the warrant applications to monitor Page.
It has also brought the conservative FreedomWorks and American Civil Liberties Union together to fight for changes. Many have warned for years that they do not believe the surveillance courts provided enough transparency or privacy protections for Americans targeted for surveillance.
The concerns about potential abuse have been raised by a larger number of Republicans after the Horowitz report, and the House Judiciary Committee was forced to pull its bill to reauthorize some programs after Rep. Zoe Lofgren threatened to force votes on some amendments.
Congress wants to continue the Justice Department’s “National Security Letter” administrative subpoena authorities. The government has often misused its jurisdiction to collect information in non-terrorism cases and pressure companies to turn over information that the government should only be demanding with a court-ordered warrant in hand. Civil libertarians want steps taken towards reforming the secretive, one-sided intelligence court, according to the ACLU.

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