Editorial: Blocking a rush to judgment

Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005 | 8:58 a.m.

The Senate is refusing to renew the USA Patriot Act, including measures that expand the FBI's ability to secretly investigate American citizens, by threatening to prevent a vote on the measure before the law expires Dec. 31.

The Senate was eight votes short of the 60 it needed Monday to block a filibuster, which allows endless debate to prevent the Senate from voting. Opponents to the Patriot Act's renewal object to provisions -- both existing ones and new proposals -- that give the FBI virtually unquestioned authority to demand business, medical or library records on anyone under the guise of a counterterrorism investigation.

Lawmakers blocking the renewal also want to increase judicial review of the FBI's so-called national security letters, with which the agency requests people's personal records without their knowledge. Under the law's renewal, those who receive the letters would be charged with a felony if they revealed to the person being investigated that the information had been requested.

The Patriot Act was hastened through Congress in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A bipartisan proposal introduced last week would extend the existing law for three months, allowing Congress enough time to reach a consensus on a plan that protects American citizens while preserving their civil liberties.

But those who favor passing the Patriot Act without taking into account its effect on civil liberties object to an extension. President Bush joined them Monday, when he challenged Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other senators favoring the extension "to go home and explain why (their) cities are safer" without the renewed law. "In a war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," Bush added.

But we wouldn't be without protection if Bush and other stubborn supporters of this assault on Americans' basic civil liberties would allow for a full extension of the Patriot Act for a few months and thoughtful review in the meantime. We have nothing to gain by passing a hastily crafted Patriot Act a second time.