House Fails to Extend Patriot Act Spy Powers

[Joanne98]

The House failed to extend three key expiring provisions of the Patriot Act on Tuesday, elements granting the government broad and nearly unchecked surveillance power on its own public.

The act was hastily adopted six weeks after the 2001 terror attacks. Three measures of the act are set to expire at month’s end, and the House’s lack of a two-thirds vote on Tuesday failed to move the sunsetting deadline to December 8, as proposed. The vote was 277-148 or 23 votes short.

The failure of the bill, sponsored by Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisconsin), for the time being is likely to give airtime to competing measures in the Senate that would place limited checks on the act’s broad surveillance powers. The White House, meanwhile, said it wanted the expiring measures extended through 2013.

The three expiring Patriot Act provisions are:

*The “roving wiretap” provision allows the FBI to obtain wiretaps from a secret intelligence court, known as the FISA court, without identifying the target or what method of communication is to be tapped.

*The “lone wolf” measure allows FISA court warrants for the electronic monitoring of a person for whatever reason — even without showing that the suspect is an agent of a foreign power or a terrorist. The government has said it has never invoked that provision, but the Obama administration said it wanted to retain the authority to do so.

*The “business records” provision allows FISA court warrants for any type of record, from banking to library to medical, without the government having to declare that the information sought is connected to a terrorism or espionage investigation.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/02/patriot-act-notextended/

[thereismore]

1. Shocked here, but happy! nt

[Wilms]

2. It was the patriotic thing to do. n/t

:patriot:

[Joanne98]

3. Bye bye Jane!

Jane Harman (a jerk right to the end) & virtually all the Blue Dogs crossed the aisle to vote with the GOP to extend the heinous Patriot Act
2 minutes ago via web

http://twitter.com/downwithtyranny

[Joanne98]

4. Here's the vote count

In a 277-148 vote, the house fell 23 votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary to move the bill under suspension of the rules. Passage required 290 votes.

More than two dozen Republicans bucked their leadership in the vote, by far the biggest defection for the House GOP since it took over the lower chamber. Until tonight's vote, Republicans voted together in all but two votes this year, and in those two votes, only one Republican voted with Democrats.

Republicans voting against the bill were Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Roscoe Bartlett (Md.), Rob Bishop (Utah), Paul Broun (Ga.), John Campbell (Calif.), John Duncan (Tenn.), Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Chris Gibson (N.Y.), Tom Graves (Ga.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Randy Hultgren (Ill.), Tim Johnson (Ill.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Jack Kingston (Ga.), Raul Labrador (Idaho), Connie Mack (Fla.), Kenny Marchant (Texas), Tom McClintock (Calif.), Ron Paul (Texas), Denny Rehberg (Mont.), Phil Roe (Tenn.), Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.), Bobby Schilling (Ill.), David Schweikert (Ariz.), Rob Woodall (Ga.), and Don Young (Alaska).

Among the Democrats, 67 voted with Republicans, and nearly twice that much, 122, voted against the GOP.

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/142871-gop-defections-lead-to-house-failure-to-extend-patriot-act-surveillance?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d51e311b46a1812,0

[dreamnightwind]

5. Any small victory is welcome

when it comes to keeping what's left of our freedoms.

"The vote was 277-148 or 23 votes short."

? Do I not understand, or is the math wrong? 2/3 would mean they were 7 votes short, I think.

Anyone know the back story on why they needed 2/3?

I'd like to think this vote was an early indicator of a possible alliance that crosses party lines and opposes policies of empire in favor of actual citizen interests. I know better than to have that much hope, but I do think such an alliance will eventually happen.

[Lint Head]

6. Since the Patriot Act has absolutely nothing to do with patriotism

I'm glad to see the damn thing disappear.

[obxhead]

7. It's a sad day when we have to rely on Republicans to

side with us for a Democratic value.

67 Democrats sided with the Republicans to try to extend these provisions.

[Joanne98]

8. Yep.

[obxhead]

9. These 67 Democrats sided with the majority of Republicans and

voted against our freedoms.


Yea NY-5 Ackerman, Gary

Yea PA-4 Altmire, Jason

Yea CA-43 Baca, Joe

Yea GA-12 Barrow, John

Yea NV-1 Berkley, Shelley

Yea GA-2 Bishop, Sanford

Yea NY-1 Bishop, Timothy

Yea OK-2 Boren, Dan

Yea IA-3 Boswell, Leonard

Yea CA-18 Cardoza, Dennis

Yea MO-3 Carnahan, Russ

Yea DE-0 Carney, John

Yea FL-11 Castor, Kathy

Yea KY-6 Chandler, Ben

Yea VA-11 Connolly, Gerald

Yea TN-5 Cooper, Jim

Yea CA-20 Costa, Jim

Yea CT-2 Courtney, Joe

Yea PA-12 Critz, Mark

Yea TX-28 Cuellar, Henry

Yea CA-53 Davis, Susan

Yea WA-6 Dicks, Norman

Yea IN-2 Donnelly, Joe

Yea CA-36 Harman, Jane

Yea FL-23 Hastings, Alcee

Yea NM-1 Heinrich, Martin

Yea NY-27 Higgins, Brian

Yea TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén

Yea PA-17 Holden, Tim

Yea MD-5 Hoyer, Steny

Yea WA-1 Inslee, Jay

Yea NY-2 Israel, Steve

Yea MA-10 Keating, William

Yea WI-3 Kind, Ronald

Yea NC-8 Kissell, Larry

Yea RI-2 Langevin, James

Yea WA-2 Larsen, Rick

Yea MI-12 Levin, Sander

Yea IL-3 Lipinski, Daniel

Yea NY-18 Lowey, Nita

Yea MA-9 Lynch, Stephen

Yea UT-2 Matheson, Jim

Yea NY-4 McCarthy, Carolyn

Yea NC-7 McIntyre, Mike

Yea CA-11 McNerney, Jerry

Yea NC-13 Miller, R.

Yea CT-5 Murphy, Christopher

Yea NJ-8 Pascrell, William

Yea CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed

Yea MI-9 Peters, Gary

Yea MN-7 Peterson, Collin

Yea IL-5 Quigley, Mike

Yea WV-3 Rahall, Nick

Yea TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre

Yea AR-4 Ross, Mike

Yea NJ-9 Rothman, Steven

Yea MD-2 Ruppersberger, C.A.

Yea CA-29 Schiff, Adam

Yea PA-13 Schwartz, Allyson

Yea GA-13 Scott, David

Yea AL-7 Sewell, Terri

Yea NC-11 Shuler, Heath

Yea NJ-13 Sires, Albio

Yea WA-9 Smith, Adam

Yea MA-5 Tsongas, Niki

Yea MD-8 Van Hollen, Christopher

Yea KY-3 Yarmuth, John