ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 12, Number 21 March 7, 2003 In this issue: - SANDERS INTRODUCES HR 1157, THE FREEDOM TO READ PROTECTION ACT - C-SPAN TO REBROADCAST SANDERS' PRESS CONFERENCE MARCH 8, 9 AND 10 SANDERS INTRODUCES HR 1157, THE FREEDOM TO READ PROTECTION ACT Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the "Freedom to Read Protection Act" - HR 1157 - on March 6th. HR 1157 would return the standards for the FBI to obtain FISA court orders and warrants to investigate library patrons and bookstore customers to the pre- PATRIOT Act standards. Under this legislation, the FBI would still have access to these records with a court-ordered search warrant but some type of reasonable cause would be required not the lower standard created by the USA PATRIOT Act. HR 1157 also calls for public reporting to determine how provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act are being implemented in order to better assess civil liberties implications. At the March 6th Capital Hill press conference Sanders said: "Under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, the person whose records are being searched by the FBI can be anyone. The FBI doesn't even have to say that it believes the person is involved in criminal activity or that the person is connected to a foreign power. This is not acceptable. The legislation we are introducing today will go a long away in protecting the basic freedoms of every American." Three of the bill's cosponsors also spoke at the press event; Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) each spoke about the civil liberties issues and privacy problems caused by the expanded FBI law enforcement powers created by the USA PATRIOT Act. Rep. Grijalva, whose wife is a librarian and whose daughter is a library school student, said that the chilling effect on library users and the other privacy problems raised by certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, shake the "soul and essence of civil liberties." Trina Magi, past president of the Vermont Library Association and an instrumental leader in getting 13 towns in Vermont to pass civil liberties resolutions about the USA PATRIOT Act also spoke. "…These provisions…already existed prior to the [PATRIOT] Act … and required probable cause and judicial oversight. Now the USA PATRIOT Act expands these powers unnecessarily, and threatens the civil liberties of people who have committed no crimes." Emily Sheketoff spoke on behalf of he American Library Association and emphasized the chilling effect these new powers have on library users. She added: "Democratic government requires public accountability and Congress has the responsibility to provide oversight and seek accountability about how these extraordinary powers are being used." Also speaking were Linda Ramsdell, a bookseller from Hardwick, Vt. and president of the New England Booksellers Association and Chris Finan from the American Booksellers Association. Rep. Sanders also commented: "All of us are concerned about terrorism and all of us are determined to do all that we can to protect the American people from another terrorist attack. But, the threat of terrorism must not be used as an excuse by the government to intrude on our basic constitutional rights. We can fight terrorism, but we can do it at the same time as we protect the civil liberties that have made our country great." By Monday more information should be posted on the Congressional THOMAS web site. For more information about HR 1157 go to Rep. Sanders web site at: http://bernie.house.gov/ Library supporters are urged to ask House members to cosponsor HR 1157. There are already 24 representatives on the bill but more, especially Republicans, are needed. Watch for more information next week about the grassroots efforts needed on this bill. C-SPAN TO REBROADCAST SANDERS' PRESS CONFERENCE MARCH 8, 9 AND 10 We just learned that C-SPAN 2 will air the Sanders press conference Saturday, March 8 at 10:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET; and Monday, March 10 at 5:30 a.m. ET. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. 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