Sensenbrenner plays Patriot Act roulette

An editorial from the Times-Union, Albany NY:

For one brief moment, it appeared that a bipartisan handful of courageous senators had won a major victory in the often heated debate on renewing the USA Patriot Act. Then, in what seemed a flash, that victory was rendered to little more than a holding action, largely because of one man, House Judiciary Committee Chairman R. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis.

As a result there will now be only five weeks for Congress to resolve differences over the Patriot Act and vote on its renewal -- not the six-month extension the Senate agreed upon after the bipartisan group refused to allow the Patriot Act to be extended without adding necessary checks and balances.

Five weeks is far too short a period. The last thing Congress, or the nation, needs right now is another game of "chicken" over who will blink first on renewing the most controversial provisions of the Patriot Act. A thorough and thoughtful debate is needed, but Rep. Sensenbrenner would have none of it.

So the chicken game will continue. President Bush played it to the hilt earlier this month, as the Dec. 31 renewal deadline loomed. He blamed Senate Democrats for placing the Patriot Act's future in peril by questioning some of the powers the White House sought to make permanent under renewal legislation. But the bipartisan group of senators refused to be intimidated. They served the nation well.

These senators aren't soft on terrorism. They want the White House to have the powers it needs to combat al-Qaida and other extremists who seek to destroy the American way of life. But they also want to protect a vital part of that way of life -- specifically, the cherished individual liberties guaranteed under the Constitution.

Some of the provisions in the Patriot Act would sacrifice basic freedoms in the name of national security. One example: Government could seize business, gun, library and other records without having to first show that they are connected to a terrorism investigation. The very concept of the balance of powers would be turned on its head.

The new deadline for congressional action, Feb. 3, is inappropriate for another reason: It's the same date the Senate will begin hearings on the newly disclosed secret government spying operations authorized by President Bush in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. For four years, the government has often monitored Americans' phone calls, e-mails and other communications without first securing a warrant, as required by law. The White House claims it has the power, as well as the responsibility, to do so. That's pretty much the same argument that the administration has used in urging Congress to permanently extend the Patriot Act.

Both issues are far too important to be settled in haste. This is the time for careful deliberations. It's time Republicans in the House and Senate joined Democrats in driving home that message to Rep. Sensenbrenner.