Monday, June 06, 2005

3:19 Senator Wyden on the USA PATRIOT Act After a week of recess, the Senate reconvened this afternoon and immediately resumed consideration of the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the D.C. Court of Appeals.  Cloture was filed before the recess on this nomination, so a cloture vote will occur tomorrow around noon on it. Changing topics, Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Intelligence Committee, spoke about the upcoming Committee consideration of the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act and about the need to strike a fine balance between combating terrorism and protecting civil liberties. In particular, he mentioned his opposition to a provision which would allow the FBI new rights concerning Administration subpoena authority. He suggested instead creating an emergency use provision that would allow the FBI to act in an emergency situation without compromising security the way that the current provision would. 3:19:30 PM