National security victories emerge

Many Democrats oppose the Patriot Act.
KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON -- The White House won two national-security victories in the Senate on Thursday, as the Patriot Act cleared a major hurdle that ensures it will be renewed soon and a compromise eased Republican objections to a secret domestic-wiretapping program, probably ensuring that there won't be a congressional investigation of it.
The Senate voted 96-3 to move toward final passage of new civil liberties protections to the Patriot Act, which the White House negotiated with a handful of Republicans.
Many Democrats remain convinced that the act, the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism law, gives the federal government too much power to intrude into the lives of innocent Americans. It's set to expire next month unless it's renewed.
But Thursday's vote clears the way for final congressional approval, which seems assured next week.
At the same time, the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee blocked Democratic demands for an inquiry into the National Security Agency's secret domestic-eavesdropping program.
"I believe that such an investigation is currently unwarranted and would be detrimental to this highly classified program," said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., the committee's chairman.
Sept. 11
President Bush authorized the program shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks to intercept communications, without warrants, between U.S. residents and suspected terrorists or their allies abroad.
The committee's Republicans backed away from an inquiry once the White House signaled support for legislation that would give Congress greater oversight over the program, while not restricting the NSA's ability to intercept communications without warrants.
Domestic wiretapping in terrorism investigations is covered by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a 1978 law that set up a secret court to issue warrants for domestic surveillance. Many lawmakers from both parties think that Bush's NSA program may violate that law.
Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, is sponsoring a bill that would declare the program legal and would create a joint House-Senate intelligence subcommittee to oversee it.
Meanwhile, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was circulating a proposal to require the administration to submit the NSA program to the FISA court to determine its constitutionality.
The Patriot Act bill would renew most provisions. Last year the Senate blocked renewal after Democrats and a few Republicans argued that more protections were needed against government intrusion.
New provisions
Last week the White House and Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, the law's leading Republican critic, reached a deal that adds three new civil liberties provisions:
Libraries that function as traditional book lenders and offer Internet access wouldn't be subject to so-called "national security letters," which are essentially subpoenas for business records that the FBI can issue in terrorism investigations without warrants.
It allows appeals of gag orders placed on recipients of national security letters. The gag orders prevent business owners from revealing that their records are being examined. Appeals could occur one year after receiving the letters.
It removes a requirement that a recipient of a national security letter must provide the FBI with the name of any lawyer consulted about the search.
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said the changes amounted to cosmetics and that the bill remained flawed.