On the recordFebruary 25, 2010
As one who has found that the USA PATRIOT Act needs a great deal of improvement and that there have been many excesses and sometimes abuses of these broad powers over the years, I have found that too little consideration of the impact of this type of surveillance on our civil liberties has been looked into. And that's why the Judiciary Committee has undergone an extensive process over the past year and reported out a bill that attempts to reform these provisions and enhance congressional oversight. In the other body, the Judiciary Committee has also passed out a bill that improves, in my view, the PATRIOT Act. So we're very close to real reform. The House bill has new protections for library and bookseller records. It clarifies the reach of roving authority to prevent 'John Doe' blanket wiretaps. It tightens the standards for national security letters that have been abused in the past.
