USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Proposals and Related Matters in Brief

RS22196 -- USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Proposals and Related Matters in Brief

Updated August 11, 2005

Summary

Both Houses have approved proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The House passed H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 on July 21, 2005, 151 Cong. Rec. H6307. The Senate passed the Judiciary Committee reported S. 1389, the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005, without amendment, on July 29, 2005, 151 Cong. Rec. S9559-562. S. 1389 makes permanent all of the expiring USA PATRIOT Act provisions except for sections 206 (roving FISA wiretaps) and 215 (FISA tangible item orders) whose expiration along with that of the lone wolf amendment it postpones until December 31, 2009. H.R. 3199 takes much the same approach but postpones expiration of sections 206 and 215 until December 31, 2015, makes the lone wolf amendment and the "material support" amendments permanent. Each of the bills amends section 215, the so-called FISA library or business record section, as well as some of the sections they make permanent. Each addresses concerns relating to the use of national security letters. H.R. 3199 alone deals with a wide array of proposals ranging from first responder grants through port security and terrorist penalty enhancements to confiscation expansions. Related CRS Reports include CRS Report RL33027, USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- and Senate-Approved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action; CRS Report RL32186, USA PATRIOT Act Sunset: Provisions That Expire on December 31, 2005; CRS Report RS21441, Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act); CRS Report RL32907, Security and Freedom Ensured Act (SAFE Act) (H.R. 1526) and Security and Freedom Enhancement Act (SAFE Act)(S. 737): Section by Section Analysis; CRS Report RL30465, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: An Overview of the Statutory Framework and Recent Judicial Decisions; and CRS Report RL32880, Administrative Subpoenas and National Security Letters in Criminal and Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Background and Proposed Adjustments.