The Senate Judiciary Committee put off for a week a vote on a bil...

Leahy of Vermont and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would create a 2013 sunset on the Act’s National Security Letter (NSL) provisions. The committee didn’t discuss immunity for telecom carriers in electronic surveillance cases, an issue that resurfaced earlier this week (CD Sept 30 p2) in a bill by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and co-sponsored by Leahy. The Leahy-Feinstein bill “updates checks and balances by increasing judicial review of the use of government powers that capture information on U.S. citizens,” and “augments congressional oversight,” Leahy said. The bill also proposes a sunset on NSLs, “given their extensive use, abuse and intrusiveness,” he said. The bill includes higher standards for NSLs seeking library records, and repeals a 2006 provision “stating that a conclusive presumption in favor of the government shall apply,” he said. And it requires court oversight of minimization procedures when information about a U.S. person is acquired, retained or disseminated, he said. Nothing in the bill will obstruct any ongoing investigation, and the NSL sunset would coincide with other sunsets in the Act, said Feinstein. The proposal to sunset NSLs received opposition from Republican members. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., introduced an amendment to strike the sunset, saying previous FBI abuses of NSLs had been remedied, but the committee voted it down. The meeting broke up without a final vote a few minutes before noon. Leahy said the committee will reconvene next week to vote on a final bill after considering additional amendments by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and possibly others.