House Votes to Restrict Patriot Act Use
In a rebuke to President Bush, with a nod to the First and Fourth Amendments, the House of Representatives today voted to ban the use of the Patriot Act for searches of library and book store records. Here's the roll call of the vote.
The House voted Wednesday to block the FBI and the Justice Department from using the anti-terror Patriot Act to search library and book store records, responding to complaints about potential invasion of privacy of innocent readers.
Despite a veto threat from President Bush, lawmakers voted 238-187 to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that allows the government to investigate the reading habits of terror suspects.
Supporters of rolling back the library and bookstore provision said that the law gives the FBI too much leeway to go on "fishing expeditions" on people's reading habits and that innocent people could get tagged as potential terrorists based on what they check out from a library.
"If the government suspects someone is looking up how to make atom bombs, go to a court and get a search warrant," said Jerold Nadler, D-N.Y.
However, records of internet usage at libraries will continue to be allowed.
Update: The ACLU applauds the House vote.
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