Fw: Thank the House for Blocking FBI From Seizing Library Records - FCNL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie" <kathyguthrie@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 3:43 PM
Subject: Thank the House for Blocking FBI From Seizing Library Records -
FCNL

The House of Representatives this week sent a clear message to
President George Bush that Congress will not rubber stamp the
president's request for a blanket renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act. In a
238 to 187 vote, the full House approved an amendment offered by Rep.
Bernie Sanders (VT) that would restrict the FBI's ability to seize
library and bookstore records.

The "Freedom to Read" amendment attached to the Justice
Department's funding bill prohibits the Justice Department from
implementing Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act regarding patron and
customer reading records at libraries and bookstores. Specifically, the
House Wednesday eliminated funding for any "order requiring the
production of library circulation records, library patron lists, book
sales records, or book customer lists."

This is a huge victory for the coalition of groups, including the
American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, the
Bill of Rights Defense Committee and other groups that lobbied for H.R.
1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act. However, the Bush
administration has reportedly threatened to veto the Justice Department
funding bill if the final version sent to the president includes this
type of language, and House leaders have vowed to remove it in
conference committee.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please thank your representative if he or she supported the Freedom to
Read amendment, or let your representative know you are disappointed if
he or she opposed this important legislation. Tell your representative
that Congress should review not just the USA PATRIOT Act, but more
broadly examine the effectiveness and unintended consequences of the
new government powers put into place after September 11, 2001.

To find out how your representative voted on Freedom to Read and send a
message to him or her,
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/EQXREUAWPS/EOPTEUAWQQ/

BACKGROUND

Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act (PL 107-56) made it easier for the
FBI to secretly obtain library and bookseller records. The Freedom to
Read amendment approved by the House Wednesday would require the FBI to
obtain a search warrant from a judge or a subpoena from a grand jury
before seizing records about an individual's reading habits.

For more information about this provision, see the web site of the
Coalition for Reader Privacy at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/EQXREUAWPS/JTLEEUAWQS/

Congress is in the process of reviewing 16 provisions of the USA
PATRIOT Act that are set to expire ("sunset") at the end of
this year. FCNL believes that to be effective, review of the USA
PATRIOT Act sunsets must include review of the broader issue of the
expansion of government powers following September 11, 2001 that
included secret arrests, indefinite detention, shipment of individuals
to countries that practice torture, and the authorization of secret
searches and surveillance not related to individualized suspicion or
specific facts. For more information see the latest edition of the FCNL
Washington newsletter, available at
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/EQXREUAWPS/JOXFEUAWQT/

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