Senators want to amend Patriot Act

Sens. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) were expected today to introduce a bill amending controversial provisions in the USA Patriot Act.

Their bill, the Safety and Freedom Enhancement Act, seeks to review provisions concerning delayed-notification search warrants and the right of law-enforcement officials to access personal records, such as library cards or medical charts. It also seeks to amend the definition of “domestic terrorism.”

Craig and Durbin will be joined at the afternoon press conference by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.); former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), who chairs Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, a network of individuals and organizations that oppose aspects of the Patriot Act; and Gregory Nojeim, the associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s legislative office in Washington.

“Cooler heads can now see that the Patriot Act went too far too fast and that it must be brought back in line with the Constitution,” Nojeim said.

Patrick O’Connor