FC: House plans vote on anti-terrorism surveillance bill Wednesday

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Oct 23 2001 - 21:33:20 PDT

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    Summary: Expect a vote on Wednesday, with debate beginning soon after 10 am 
    ET. The discussion on the House floor began Tuesday evening. The House is 
    voting on a version of the USA Act approved by a House-Senate conference 
    committee. The ACLU sent out a letter (below) Tuesday evening urging the 
    House to reject the conference report. Don't hold your breath.
    
    One version of USA Act (sometimes called PATRIOT Act), not the latest:
    http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:H.R.2975:
    
    Background:
    http://www.wartimeliberty.com/search.pl?topic=legislation
    
    -Declan
    
    ***********
    
    Press release:
    
    WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James 
    Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) delivered the following statement during 
    tonight's House debate on anti-terrorism legislation, H.R. 3162:
    "Mr. Speaker, today, we have the duty and the privilege to pass this 
    historic legislation, the USA - PATRIOT Act of 2001, which was born of 
    adversity and violent attack.  This landmark legislation will provide law 
    enforcement and intelligence agencies additional tools that are needed to 
    address the threat of terrorism and to find and prosecute terrorist criminals.
    "This legislation authorizes the sharing of information between criminal 
    investigators and those engaged in foreign intelligence gathering.  It 
    provides for enhanced wiretap and surveillance authority, and brings the 
    basic building blocks of a criminal investigation (pen registers and trap 
    and trace provisions) into the twenty-first century to deal with e-mails 
    and Internet communications.
    "Mr. Speaker, this legislation is the result of bipartisan consultation and 
    review.  A version of this legislation was passed by the House Judiciary 
    Committee, 36-0.  The House then passed H.R. 2975 by a vote of 337-79.  The 
    House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the bipartisan leadership began a 
    process last week to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate 
    bills.  This bill is the result of that process that was completed despite 
    the closure of House and Senate offices due to the anthrax attack on the 
    Capitol.
    "The changes to the bill are few but significant.  First, the sunset 
    provision in the House bill was modified to sunset in four years. 
    Provisions of the original version expired after five years and the Senate 
    did not have a sunset provision.  Also, the Senate bill contained revisions 
    to the so-called McDade law.  This compromise version does not contain 
    those changes and I agreed to review this subject in a different context.
    "This bill also contains comprehensive money laundering provisions that 
    will be discussed by my colleagues from the Committee on Financial 
    Services.  The House bill did not contain such provisions although the 
    House subsequently passed a separate bill.
    "Regarding the information sharing provisions, the Senate bill permitted 
    law enforcement to share grand jury material with intelligence agencies 
    without notice to the Court.  The House bill permitted such sharing only 
    after prior authorization to the Court.  This bill allows sharing of grand 
    jury material but the Department of Justice must give notice to the Court 
    after the disclosure.
    "This legislation also contains a provision, found in neither the House or 
    Senate version, that directs the Department of Justice to file an ex parte 
    and in camera notice with the Court when the government installs on an 
    Internet Service Provider a device pursuant to a lawful pen register or 
    trap and trace order.  This provision's author is the esteemed Majority 
    Leader, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Armey.
    "This legislation also contains a number of provisions, including 3 
    authored by Rep. Hyde and 1 by Rep. Keller, which were in the House 
    Judiciary Committee version of the bill but were not in the version that 
    passed on the floor.  This bill also contains a number of provisions that 
    have been worked out on both sides of the aisle in the Senate.
    "Regarding the bill's immigration provisions, this compromise legislation 
    allows the Attorney General to delegate only to the Deputy Attorney General 
    the ability to certify an alien as a terrorist.  The House Judiciary 
    Committee version of this legislation contained this provision but the 
    Senate-passed bill did not and allowed such delegation to the Commissioner 
    of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.  In addition, the compromise 
    requires the Attorney General to revisit every six months the detention of 
    an alien who has been certified as an alien terrorist.  The compromise also 
    adds a provision authorizing the appropriation of over $36 million to 
    implement as quickly as possible the Foreign Student Tracking System that 
    was created in 1996.  Finally, this legislation contains important 
    humanitarian relief, originally contained in the House bill but not the 
    Senate, for the families of immigrants killed in the terrorist attacks of 
    September 11.
    "Mr. Speaker, this legislation is not perfect and the process is not one 
    that all will embrace.  However, these are difficult times that require 
    steadfast leadership and an expeditious response.  This legislation is 
    desperately needed and the President has called on Congress to pass it 
    now.  I urge all Members to support this important anti-terrorism 
    legislation and reserve the balance of my time."
    ##30##
    
    ***********
    
     From one person following the money laundering sections of the USA Act:
    
    >The House is going to vote tonight on the anti-terrorism substitute which
    >will include the anti-money laundering language (a concession to the
    >Senate).  According to one source, the base text of the anti-money
    >laundering part will be the House floor passed version of HR 3004 (which had
    >been changed to conform more with the Senate version) with some 
    >changes.  These sections will be dropped from the bill:
    >*Making it a crime to make a false statement opening an account;
    >*Sec 403 and 404 are out, allowing the Mint to print foreign money to
    >foil counterfetiers; These sections will be added:
    >*Senate language facilitating information sharing between agencies
    >*Gramm language allowing a process for challenging asset forfeiture And 
    >another addition that fudges some of the language:
    >*Treasury will have 180 days to issue monitoring regulations or the
    >more proscriptive Senate mandates take effect.
    
    ***********
    
    CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS
    LEGISLATIVE DAY OF OCTOBER 23, 2001
    
    107TH CONGRESS - FIRST SESSION
    9:58  P.M. -
    On motion to adjourn
    Agreed to by voice vote.
    The House adjourned. The next meeting is scheduled for
    10:00 a.m. on October 24, 2001.
    
    Mr. Larson (CT) moved that the House do now adjourn.
    
    8:30  P.M. -
    SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES - The House has concluded all
    anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to
    Special Order speeches.
    8:27  P.M. -
    Pursuant to clause 8, rule XX, the Speaker postponed until
    Wednesday, October 24, 2001, the roll call vote on the
    motion to suspend the rules and pass
    H.R. 3162,
      which was
    ordered on Tuesday, October 23, 2001.
    
    H.R. 3162:
    to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and
    around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory
    tools, and for other purposes
    At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were
    demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause
    8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings
    on the motion would be postponed.
    7:15  P.M. -
    DEBATE - By unanimous consent, the House proceeded with one
    hour of debate on the motion to suspend the rules and pass
    
    H.R. 3162.
    
    Considered under suspension of the rules.
    
    Mr. Sensenbrenner moved to suspend the rules and pass the
    bill.
    
    7:14  P.M. -
    The Speaker announced that votes on suspensions, if
    ordered, will be postponed until October 24.
    Mr. Linder filed a report from the Committee on Rules on
    
    H. Res. 270.
    
    [...]
    
    ***********
    
    ACLU Urges House To Reject Conference Report;
    Decries Deeply Flawed Legislative Process FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Phil Gutis
    Tuesday, October 23, 2001
    202-675-2312 WASHINGTON - Decrying a deeply flawed legislative process, the 
    American
    Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to reject the
    conference report on the anti-terrorism bill. "This legislation is based on 
    the faulty assumption that safety must come at
    the expense of civil liberties," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU
    Washington National Office. "We can be safe and fight terrorism without
    substantially surrendering our civil liberties." In a letter to the full 
    House, which could consider the conference report as
    early as tonight, Murphy said the USA Act (HR 2975) would give enormous,
    unwarranted power to the executive branch unchecked by meaningful judicial
    review. Most of the new powers, the ACLU said, could be used against
    American citizens in counter-terrorism investigations and in routine
    criminal investigations completely unrelated to terrorism. "These new and 
    unchecked powers could be used against American citizens who
    are not under criminal investigation, immigrants who are here within our
    borders legally, and also against those whose First Amendment activities are
    deemed to be threats to national security by the Attorney General," the
    ACLU's letter said. With House offices closed and staff unable to access 
    their papers, Murphy
    said that the process that brought the conference report to the floor is
    deeply flawed and an offense to the thoughtful legislative process necessary
    to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. "In past times of 
    tragedy and fear, our government has harassed,
    investigated and arrested people solely because of their race, religion,
    national origin, speech or political beliefs," the ACLU said. "We must not
    allow that to happen again even as we work together to protect ourselves
    from future terrorist attacks." The ACLU letter to the House can be found at:
    http://www.aclu.org/congress/l102301a.html Melissa Schwartz
    
    ***********
    
    
    
    
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