The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
October 9, 2009

Senate Panel Votes to Extend PATRIOT Surveillance Powers
--------------------------------------------------------



The Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, has approved a measure that
would leave the controversial surveillance powers of the USA PATRIOT Act
mostly intact. Thursday’s vote came after panel members rejected
amendments to curb the use of National Security Letters and allow the
expiration of the unused “lone wolf” provision that targets individuals
with no alleged links to terrorist groups. In a statement, the American
Civil Liberties Union criticized the vote but welcomed approval of two
amendments: one ordering the government to discard illegally obtained
information and another forcing law enforcement agencies to notify
suspects targeted by “sneak and peak” searches within seven days instead
of the current rule of thirty.



.