Freedom4um

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

National News
See other National News Articles

Title: PATRIOT ACT EXTENSION FAILS
Source: Campaign for Liberty
URL Source: http://AbMail
Published: Feb 8, 2011
Author: C4L
Post Date: 2011-02-08 20:32:58 by abraxas
Keywords: None
Views: 2358
Comments: 90

PATRIOT ACT EXTENSION FAILS

Thanks to your dedicated efforts, the motion to suspend the rules and pass the extension of three PATRIOT Act provisions failed tonight in the House of Representatives! Since they were attempting to pass it on the suspension calendar, the vote required two thirds (290 members) of the House to agree to it.

The vote came down to the wire, and you could hear the arms breaking on Capitol Hill out here in Springfield, VA.

By a vote of 277-148, the House failed to pass the extension - click here for the roll call vote to see how your representative voted!

Thanks again for all you've done, but remember, we can't let up pressure now. This won't be the last we've heard of the PATRIOT Act renewal in the House.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  

Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 25.

#18. To: abraxas (#0)

Hold on to your hat.

We're going to have to raise a row the next couple of weeks.

PATRIOT Act Extension Fails, For Now February 8, 2011 - by Donny Shaw

House Republicans tried this evening to pass a bill extending three of the most controversial provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act by using an expedited procedure that allowed for just 40 minute of debate and no amendments. But the rules of the procedure also required that 2/3rds of the House vote in favor for the extension to pass. So, even though a strong majority of the House voted in favor, they were 13 votes short and the attempt failed. The bill will, however, be brought back to the floor for another vote under standard rules, probably in the next few days, and since only a simple majority will be needed it is expected to pass then.

Shulamit Shvartsman describes the three provisions that would be extended under the bill (without modification):

* Business Records provision – grants warrants for “business records” without having to notify the suspect. Business records include any record ranging from banking to library to medical. The government must only say that the records are relevant to a terrorism investigation. From 2004 to 2007, the business records provision was used 220 times. It was most often requested in combination with requests for phone records. * Lone Wolf provision – allows warrants for electronic monitoring of someone even without showing the person is an agent of a foreign power or a suspected terrorist. While it hasn’t been used yet, the administration says it should still be available for future investigations. * Roving Wiretaps provision – designed to allow investigators to quickly monitor the communications of suspects who change their cell phone without investigators having to go back to court for a new court authorization. That provision has been used an average of 22 times a year.

The bill will no go back to the rules committee, get a new rule, and be brought up under regular order sometime soon. That probably means we’ll get a little more debate time (not that anyone takes floor debate seriously) and, if Republicans choose to live up to their campaign pledge to use more open rules, an opportunity for members who oppose the provisions in their current form to seek reforms via amendments.

But make no mistake — today’s slip up is not going to stop this bill from becoming law in the next few weeks. Senate Democrats are already preparing to fast-track companion legislation (S. 149) by using a procedure that will allow them to skip the committee process and bring the bill straight to the floor. The Obama Administration “strongly supports” the extension and is even pushing for it to be longer, so there’s no possibility of a veto.

74.86.203.132-static.reve...t-Extension-Fails-For-Now

randge  posted on  2011-02-08   21:14:15 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

#25. To: randge (#18)

We're going to have to raise a row the next couple of weeks.

We put a lot of pressure on our congress critter and he voted nay on it, but we obviously need more pressure on the yea group. I'm happy to pressure other peoples congress critters. : )

abraxas  posted on  2011-02-08   21:29:30 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

Replies to Comment # 25.

        There are no replies to Comment # 25.

End Trace Mode for Comment # 25.

Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest