Mr. Speaker, one of the most important responsibilities for Congress after the September 11 terrorist attacks is to balance the needs of law enforcement to have effective tools to combat terrorism with the civil liberties and civil rights of Americans.

I am pleased that the Senate bill strengthens the civil liberties protections of the Patriot Act, and provides for increased judicial oversight of the Justice Department as it uses these powers.

The bill before us enacts a number of much-needed procedural changes that will enhance judicial oversight of Section 215 orders.  Under current law, the recipient of a Section 215 order lacks an explicit statutory right to petition the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court to modify or set aside either the production order or the non-disclosure requirement.  The conference report provides that recipients have an explicit right to challenge the legality of the Section 215 order in certain FISA courts.  This bill further expands the individual’s right to challenge the government assertion that a business records search must remain secret.

The legislation also reforms the FBI process used to issue National Security Letters (NSL).  Unlike current law, the conference report explicitly permits recipients of NSLs to consult with an attorney to challenge the letter in court.  This bill further strengthens individual rights by allowing the recipient of an NSL to consult with an attorney in secret, and does not require the recipient to disclose the name of the attorney to the FBI.

Finally, this bill provides that public, academic, or research libraries that offer Internet access or other electronic research tools are not considered to be electronic communication services, and therefore are not subject to search by an NSL.