The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Mandy Simon, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

House Votes to Briefly Extend Overbroad Patriot Act Provisions

Congress Will Debate Expiring Provisions and Changes to the Act Next Year

WASHINGTON

The
House voted today for a 60-day extension of three expiring Patriot Act
provisions. The extension came as part of the Defense Department
Appropriations Act, which the Senate is expected to pass in the coming
week. The expiring provisions of the Patriot Act - the John Doe roving
wiretap provision, Section 215 or the "library records" provision and
the never before used "lone wolf" provision - all lack proper privacy
safeguards. They were up for renewal this year and would have expired
on December 31 if Congress did not take action. The provisions will be
extended through February 28, 2010.

The
following can be attributed to Michael Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of
the American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office:

"It
is disappointing that Congress could not make reforming the Patriot Act
a priority this year. Upon the House's return next year, we urge them
to debate and vote on the USA Patriot Amendments Act, a bill that goes
much further in protecting Americans' civil liberties than its
counterparts in the Senate. We genuinely hope that Congress will use
the next two months wisely for the kind of vigorous debate Americans'
privacy deserves."

For more information about the ACLU's work on the Patriot Act, go to: www.reformthepatriotact.org

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666