House sends extension of Patriot Act to Obama

[bobbyw24]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a one-year extension of key provisions of the USA Patriot Act, the nation’s counterterrorism surveillance law.

The 315 to 97 vote Thursday evening sends the bill to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The surveillance and seizure provisions are scheduled to expire Sunday. In agreeing to pass the bill, Democrats retreated from adding new privacy protections.

The outcome is a major disappointment for Democrats and their liberal allies, including the American Civil Liberties Union, who believe the Patriot Act fails to protect privacy and gives the government too much authority to spy on Americans and seize their property.

Democrats have retreated from adding new privacy protections to the nation’s primary counterterrorism law, stymied by Senate Republicans who argued the changes would weaken terror investigations.

The proposed protections were cast aside when Senate Democrats lacked the necessary 60-vote supermajority to pass them. Dashing the hopes of liberals, the Senate Wednesday night instead passed — by voice vote without debate — a one-year extension of key parts of the USA Patriot Act that would have expired on Sunday.

Thrown away were restrictions and greater scrutiny on the government’s authority to spy on Americans and seize their records.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/25/house-sends-extension-of-patriot-act-to-obama/

[charrob]

Repeal Patriot Act and Restore Constitutional Rights to Americans by Dennis Kucinich
Posted on February 25, 2010 by dandelionsalad


by Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Washington, Feb 25, 2010

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a vocal critic of the USA Patriot Act and advocate for civil rights, today made the following statement regarding the House vote to extend provisions of the USA Patriot Act:

“This legislation extends three problematic provisions of the PATRIOT Act and, at the same time, leaves some of the most egregious provisions in place, absent any meaningful reform and debate.

“The three provisions being extended today include the “roving wiretap;” which allows the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to issue secret orders to wiretap any target without having to specify the target or the device. This extension also includes the “lone wolf” surveillance provision, which allows intelligence agencies to conduct investigations of non-U.S. individuals not connected to a foreign power or terrorist group – a provision that the Administration has never had to use. Finally, this legislation would extend Section 215 powers of the PATRIOT Act, which allow the government to order any entity to turn over “any tangible things” as long as it specifies it is for “an authorized investigation.” Section 215 orders constitute a serious violation of Fourth and First Amendment rights by allowing the government to demand access to records often associated with the exercise of First Amendment rights, such as library records.

“Despite years of documentation evidencing abuse of these provisions during the Bush Administration, the Department of Justice has failed to hold Bush Administration officials accountable for illegal domestic spying by barring any lawsuits to be brought against those officials. Months into this Administration, The New York Times reported that the National Security Agency had “intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits,” and that the practice was “significant and systematic.” Passage of this legislation today continues to make Congress complicit in these violations of our basic constitutional rights.

“A letter written by the American Bar Association in 2005 to Members of Congress expressed grave concern over ‘inadequate Congressional oversight of government investigations undertaken pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act…to assure that such investigations do not violate the First, Fourth, and Fifth amendments to the Constitution.’ As Members of Congress sworn to protect the rights and civil liberties afforded to us by the Constitution, we have a responsibility to exercise our oversight powers fully, and significantly reform the PATRIOT Act, ensuring that the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans are fully protected. More than eight years after the passage of the PATRIOT Act, we have failed to do so. As National Journal correspondent Shane Harris recently put it, we have witnessed the rise of an ‘American Surveillance State.’ We have come to love our fears more than we love our freedoms,” said Kucinich.


http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/repeal-patriot-act-and-restore-constitutional-rights-to-americans-by-dennis-kucinich/

[Chester Copperpot]

All 315 of those house members who voted yes should be arrested and thrown out of office

[TheEvilDetector]

All 315 of those house members who voted yes should be arrested and thrown out of office

At the very least voted out..

[charrob]

Here's the Roll Call for the Vote:

Patriot Act Without Reforms Passes House (Roll Call Included)
posted 25th February 2010 in Democrats, Legislation, Liberty by jclifford

An extension of the Patriot Act with no reforms of its abusive powers of unreasonable search and seizure against American citizens has passed the House of Representatives. The vote was 315 in favor of extending the Patriot Act without reform, 97 against, and 20 not voting.

Search for information about the roll call of this vote online tonight, and you’ll just find this nameless tally of numbers. You won’t find the names. Why?

The reason is that the House Democratic leadership voted on the renewal of the Patriot Act in such a way as to hide the vote from the American people. Go to the web site of the Clerk of the House, and you’ll see no vote from today about the Patriot Act at all. What you will see is Roll Call 67, “On Motion to Concur in Senate Amendments” for H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act.

That’s the vote on whether to extend the Patriot Act without any reforms of its abusive spying programs. It doesn’t look like it, of course, but the Patriot Act extension is what’s referred to by “Senate Amendments”. The Senate Democrats sneaked the Patriot Act extension into a Medicare reform bill, and then voted by voice vote to approve the amendment so that no politician would have to have their name attached to this shameless abandonment of liberty. The House Democrats benefited from the maneuver as well, being able to vote on unnamed amendments related to Medicare reform, rather than having it on the record for everyone to see that they voted to renew the worst abuses of the Patriot Act without any effort to protect Americans from their spying powers at all.

We here at Irregular Times refuse to go along with this underhanded political charade. We’re naming names:

http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2010/02/25/patriot-act-without-reforms-passes-house-roll-call-included/

[jmdrake]

Yeah it sucks. This went right under our radar. Not sure what we could have done though.

[charrob]

Let’s start with those members of the House of Representatives who got it right: Representatives With The Courage To Vote NO:

Neil Abercrombie – Tammy Baldwin
Bartlett – Xavier Becerra
Berman – Bishop (UT)
Earl Blumenauer – Boccieri
Braley (IA) – Capuano
Chaffetz – Chu
Clarke – Cleaver
Cohen – Costello
Crowley – Cummings
DeFazio – John Dingell
Lloyd Doggett – John Duncan
Edwards (MD) – Ehlers
Ellison – Engel
Farr – Bob Filner
Barney Frank – Fudge
Al Green – Raul Grijalva
Phil Hare – Jane Harman
Alcee Hastings – Heller
Maurice Hinchey – Mazie Hirono
Holt – Honda
Johnson (GA) – Johnson (IL)
Jones – Kagen
Dennis Kucinich – Larson (CT)
Lee (CA) – Lewis (GA)
Loebsack – Luján
Dan Maffei – Maloney
Ed Markey – Doris Matsui
McCollum – McDermott
McGovern – Meeks (NY)
Michael Michaud – George Miller
Walt Minnick – Moore (WI)
Nadler (NY) – Neal (MA)
Oberstar – Olver
Pallone – Pastor (AZ)
Ron Paul – Payne
Perriello – Pingree (ME)
Polis (CO) – Price (NC)
Richardson – Ryan (OH)
Linda Sánchez – Loretta Sanchez
Sarbanes – Jan Schakowsky
Scott (VA) – Jose Serrano
Shea-Porter – Sherman
Speier – Thompson (CA)
Tierney – Ed Towns
Nydia Velázquez – Visclosky
Waters – Mel Watt
Henry Waxman – Peter Welch
Lynn Woolsey – Wu
Don Young

http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2010/02/25/patriot-act-without-reforms-passes-house-roll-call-included/

[charrob]

Now, those who stood by and did nothing, though they didn’t do the wrong thing either:

Barrett (SC) – Bishop (NY)
Boucher – Capps
Deal (GA) – Dent
Fallin – Gingrey (GA)
Hall (TX) – Connie Mack
Myrick – Pitts
Price (GA) – Radanovich
Reichert – Pete Stark
Bart Stupak – Sullivan
Westmoreland – Wilson (SC)

http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2010/02/25/patriot-act-without-reforms-passes-house-roll-call-included/

[charrob]

And finally, the pure scoundrels of the day, the U.S. Representatives who voted to extend the worst parts of the Patriot Act, aspects of the law known to be routinely abused, targeting American citizens, without any reforms whatsoever. Representatives voting AYE to more spying without reform:

Gary Ackerman – Aderholt -Adler (NJ) – Todd Akin
Rodney Alexander – Altmire – Andrews – Mike Arcuri
Austria – Joe Baca – Michele Bachmann – Bachus
Brian Baird – Barrow – Barton (TX) – Bean
Berkley – Berry – Biggert – Bilbray
Bilirakis – Bishop (GA) – Marsha Blackburn – Roy Blunt
Boehner – Bonner – Mary Bono Mack
Boozman – Boren – Boswell – Boustany
Boyd – Brady (PA) – Brady (TX) – Bobby Bright
Paul Broun – Brown (SC) – Corrine Brown – Ginny Brown-Waite
Vern Buchanan – Burgess – Burton (IN) – Butterfield
Buyer – Ken Calvert – Camp – Campbell
Cantor – Joseph Cao – Capito – Cardoza
Carnahan – Carney – Andre Carson – Carter
Cassidy – Mike Castle – Castor (FL) – Ben Chandler
Childers – William Lacy Clay – Clyburn – Coble
Coffman (CO) – Cole – Conaway – Connolly (VA)
Conyers – Cooper – Jim Costa – Courtney
Crenshaw – Henry Cuellar – Culberson – Dahlkemper
Davis (AL) – Davis (CA) – Davis (IL) – Davis (KY)
Lincoln Davis – DeGette – Delahunt – Rosa DeLauro
Lincoln Diaz-Balart – Mario Diaz-Balart – Norm Dicks – Donnelly (IN)
Doyle – Dreier – Driehaus – Chet Edwards
Ellsworth – Emerson – Eshoo – Etheridge
Fattah – Flake – Fleming – Forbes
Fortenberry – Foster – Virginia Foxx – Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen – Elton Gallegly – John Garamendi – Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach – Giffords – Louie Gohmert – Gonzalez
Goodlatte – Gordon (TN) – Granger – Graves
Grayson – Gene Green – Griffith – Guthrie
Gutierrez – John Hall – Halvorson – Harper
Hastings (WA) – Heinrich – Hensarling – Wlly Herger
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin – Brian Higgins – Hill – Himes
Hinojosa – Paul Hodes – Hoekstra – Holden
Steny Hoyer – Hunter – Inglis – Jay Inslee
Israel – Darrel Issa – Jesse Jackson – Sheila Jackson Lee
Jenkins – Johnson, E. B. – Sam Johnson – Jordan (OH)
Kanjorski – Marcy Kaptur – Kennedy – Kildee
Kilpatrick (MI) – Kilroy – Kind – King (IA)
King (NY) – Kingston – Mark Kirk – Kirkpatrick (AZ) – Kissell – Ron Klein
John Kline – Kosmas
Kratovil – Lamborn – Lance – Langevin
Larsen (WA) – Latham – LaTourette – Latta
Lee (NY) – Sander Levin – Lewis (CA) – Linder
Lipinski – LoBiondo – Zoe Lofgren – Nita Lowey
Lucas – Luetkemeyer – Lummis – Dan Lungren
Lynch – Manzullo – Kenny Marchant – Betsy Markey
Marshall – Eric Massa – Matheson – McCarthy (CA)
McCarthy (NY) – McCaul – Tom McClintock – McCotter
McHenry – McIntyre – McKeon – McMahon
McMorris Rodgers – McNerney – Meek (FL) – Charles Melancon
Mica – Miller (FL) – Miller (MI) – Miller (NC)
Gary Miller – Mitchell – Alan Mollohan- Dennis Moore (KS)
Moran (KS) – Moran (VA) – Murphy (CT) – Murphy (NY)
Patrick Murphy – Tim Murphy – Grace Napolitano – Neugebauer
Nunes – Nye – Dave Obey – Olson
Ortiz – Owens – Pascrell – Paulsen
Pence – Ed Perlmutter – Peters – Peterson
Petri – Platts – Poe (TX) – Earl Pomeroy
Posey – Putnam – Mike Quigley – Rahall
Charles Rangel – Denny Rehberg – Reyes – Rodriguez
Roe (TN) – Rogers (AL) – Rogers (KY) – Rogers (MI)
Dana Rohrabacher – Rooney – Ros-Lehtinen – Roskam
Mike Ross – Rothman (NJ) – Roybal-Allard – Ed Royce
Ruppersberger – Bobby Rush – Ryan (WI) – John Salazar
Scalise – Schauer – Schiff – Schmidt
Schock – Schrader – Schwartz – Scott (GA)
Sensenbrenner – Sessions – Joe Sestak – Shadegg
John Shimkus – Heath Shuler – Shuster – Simpson
Albio Sires – Ike Skelton – Louise Slaughter
Smith (NE) – Smith (NJ) – Smith (TX) – Smith (WA)
Vic Snyder – Souder – Zack Space – Spratt
Stearns – Sutton – John Tanner – Taylor
Teague – Terry – Thompson (MS) – Thompson (PA)
Thornberry – Todd Tiahrt – Tiberi – Titus
Tonko – Niki Tsongas – Turner – Upton
Van Hollen – Walden – Walz – Wamp
Wasserman Schultz – Watson – Weiner – Whitfield
Wilson (OH) – Wittman – Wolf – John Yarmuth – Young (FL)

http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2010/02/25/patriot-act-without-reforms-passes-house-roll-call-included/

[slothman]

Oddly enough Kucinich against voted against it.

[Reason]

This went right under our radar.

I saw some threads about it here.

Got lots of emails from the ACLU about it too.

[antiidolatry]

how many tricks do they have to keep the public in the dark?

we the people are not standing for this behavior anymore!

[Pennsylvania]

I think I'll send each of those 97 actual human beings a thank you letter for not being complete nazis.

People talk a lot of shit on Barney Frank. Maybe some of it is deserved, but stuff like this keeps my respect for the guy.

Btw, where's Pelosi's vote?

[The Patriot]

John Duncan, Congressman from Tennessee, and member of the Liberty Caucus, voted against it. I never even knew this guy existed. He is an anti war, pro civil liberties conservative. Does anyone know if this guy is running for reelection? We need to keep guys like this in Congress.

http://duncan.house.gov/about/issues.shtml