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CRS Issue Statement on Civil Liberties and National Security [January 13, 2010]
From the Document: "Tactics employed to detect national security threats continue to implicate individuals' civil liberties. Electronic surveillance of communications to and from foreign intelligence targets can also capture innocent conversations and chill the exercise of First Amendment rights. New technologies may more effectively screen for explosives or other weapons, but simultaneously produce more revealing images of passengers' bodies. The broadened use of national security letters can provide investigators with a fuller picture to better allocate resources toward more serious threats, but also subject a larger universe of private financial or personal documents to disclosure. As Congress attempts to strike an appropriate balance between the need to detect and thwart activities that pose a threat to U.S. national security and the need to safeguard the civil liberties of U.S. persons, the following issues are likely to remain of interest."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Liu, Edward C.
2010-01-13
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USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization in Brief [Updated September 15, 2005]
"Both Houses have approved proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The House passed H.R. 3199 on July 21, 2005, 151 Cong. Rec. H6307; the Senate, S. 1389 on July 29, 2005 (although the Senate substituted its language for that of H.R. 3199 and then passed H.R. 3199; for convenience the Senate version of H.R. 3199 is referred to as S. 1389 here). This is a sketch of those bills and how they differ. Their common provisions deal mostly with expanded federal authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The bills make permanent all but two of the temporary USA PATRIOT Act sections. They postpone the expiration of the two, dealing with FISA roving wiretaps and the so-call library or business records authority. In these two, the national security letter statutes, and some of the other USA PATRIOT Act provisions make sometimes parallel and sometimes individualistic adjustments. H.R. 3199 contains a number of features not found in S. 1389 including a first responder grant program, new capital offenses and adjusted capital punishment procedures, sections that in large measure replicate the seaport crimes portions of S. 378 (as reported), a substantial expansion in federal forfeiture authority in terrorism and money laundering cases, and expansion of federal wiretapping authority to embrace investigations into twenty crimes for which the authority did not previously exist."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles
2005-09-15
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USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006 (S. 2271) [February 17, 2006]
"The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, H.R. 3199, as reported by the conference committee, H.Rept. 109-333 (2005), and agreed to by the House on December 14, 2005, raises the concern of several members of the Senate regarding its protection of civil liberties. To provide the Senate with additional time to consider the conference bill, the 109th Congress enacted legislation delaying the sunset on certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act from December 31, 2005, to February 3, 2006 (P.L. 109-160), and then approved another extension of the sunset to March 10, 2006 (P.L. 109-170). On February 10, 2006, the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006, S. 2271, was introduced in the Senate. S. 22711 amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the five federal statutes providing national security letter (NSL) authority to federal intelligence investigators2 in the following manner: (1) it grants recipients of a Section 215 order the express right to petition a FISA judge to modify or quash the nondisclosure requirement that accompanies such an order; (2) it removes the requirement that recipients of Section 215 orders or recipients of NSLs must provide the FBI or the authorized government authority with the name of the attorney they consulted to obtain legal advice concerning the production order or the NSL; and (3) it clarifies that libraries, the services of which include offering patrons access to the Internet, are not subject to NSLs, unless they are functioning as electronic communication service providers."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Yeh, Brian T.
2006-02-17
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USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Side-by-Side Comparison of Existing Law, H.R. 3199 (Conference), and H.R. 3199 (Senate Passed) [December 28, 2005]
"By virtue of Section 224 of the USA PATRIOT Act, P.L. 107-56 (2001), several of the acts amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 50 U.S.C. 1801-1862, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2522, 2701-2712, 3121-3127, were scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005, 115 Stat. 295 (2001). S. 2167 postpones the expiration dates of those provisions and of Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 ('lone wolf' amendment), 118 Stat. 3742 (2004), until February 3, 2006. The version of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, H.R. 3199, which the Senate sent to conference, primarily addresses the provisions scheduled to expire and related matters such as the issuance of 'national security letters' under 18 U.S.C. 2709. The version of H.R. 3199 upon which the conferees agreed represents a compromise between the Senate version and the version passed by the House. The conference bill also contains provisions, amended by the conferees in several instances, that originated in the House but that in some cases have been considered in the Senate under separate legislative proposals. These include sections relating to the death penalty, seaport security, combating terrorism financing, and methamphetamine abuse."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles; Yeh, Brian T.
2005-12-28
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National Identification Cards: Legal Issues [Updated January 7, 2003]
"In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, renewed debate has arisen regarding the efficacy and legal implications of a national identification card, a form of identification that would be something more comprehensive than a driver's license, a Social Security card or a passport. Such debate has centered on finding the appropriate balance between maintaining personal freedom and protecting national security. Proponents contend that a card using "biometric" surveillance technologies such as electronic retinal scans or fingerprints could help reduce and/or track illegal immigrants or potential terrorists. Conversely, opponents assert that such a card could infringe upon civil liberties with minimal impact on reducing terrorism. This report will briefly summarize the policy arguments related to and legal implications of a national identification card. The report will be updated as developments warrant."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Smith, Alison M., 1962-
2003-01-07
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National Security Letters: Proposals in the 112th Congress [June 30, 2011]
"National Security Letters (NSLs) are roughly comparable to administrative subpoenas. Various intelligence agencies use them to demand certain customer information from communications providers, financial institutions, and consumer credit reporting agencies under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the National Security Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded NSL authority. Later reports of the Department of Justice's Inspector General indicated that (1) the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] considered the expanded authority very useful; (2) after expansion the number of NSL requests increased dramatically; (3) the number of requests relating to Americans increased substantially; and (4) FBI use of NSL authority had sometimes failed to comply with statutory, Attorney General, or FBI policies. […] This report reprints the text of the five NSL statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would be returned under S. 1125 and H.R. 1805). Related reports include CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by Edward C. Liu, and CRS Report RL33320, National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments, by Charles Doyle."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles
2011-06-30
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Suicide Prevention Among Veterans [May 5, 2008]
"Numerous news stories in the popular print and electronic media have documented suicides among servicemembers and veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In the United States, there are more than 30,000 suicides annually. Suicides among veterans are included in this number, but it is not known in what proportion. There is no nationwide system for surveillance of suicide specifically among veterans. Recent data show that about 20% of suicide deaths nationwide could be among veterans. It is not known what proportion of these deaths are among OIF/OEF veterans. Veterans have a number of risk factors that increase their chance of attempting suicide. These risk factors include combat exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems, traumatic brain injury (TBI), poor social support structures, and access to lethal means. Several bills addressing suicide in veterans have been introduced in the 110th Congress. On November 5, 2007, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (P.L. 110-110) was signed into law, requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a comprehensive program for suicide prevention among veterans. More recently, the Veterans Suicide Study Act (S. 2899) was introduced. This bill would require the VA to conduct a study, and report to Congress, regarding suicides among veterans since 1997. The VA has carried out a number of suicide prevention initiatives, including establishing a national suicide prevention hotline for veterans, conducting awareness events at VA medical centers, and screening and assessing veterans for suicide risk."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Lister, Sarah A.; Panangala, Sidath Viranga; Sundararaman, Ramya
2008-05-05
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Anti-Terrorism Authority under the Laws of the United Kingdom and the United States [September 7, 2006]
"This is a comparison of the laws of the United Kingdom and of the United States that govern criminal and intelligence investigations of terrorist activities. Both systems rely upon a series of statutory authorizations: in the case of the United States primarily the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act; in the case of the United Kingdom, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the Police Act, the Intelligence Services Act. Among other differences, the U.S. procedures rely more heavily upon judicial involvement and supervision, while those of the UK employ other safeguards. The UK procedures afford greater latitude to arrest, detain and supervise suspected terrorists than those available in the United States."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles; Claire Feikert
2006-09-07
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USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization in Brief [August 10, 2005]
"Both Houses have approved proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. […] This is a sketch of those bills and how they differ. Their common provisions deal mostly with expanded federal authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The bills make permanent all but two of the temporary USA PATRIOT Act sections. They postpone the expiration of the two, dealing with FISA roving wiretaps and the so-call library or business records authority. In these two, the national security letter statutes, and some of the other USA PATRIOT Act provisions make sometimes parallel and sometimes individualistic adjustments. H.R. 3199 contains a number of features not found in S. 1389 including a first responder grant program, new capital offenses and adjusted capital punishment procedures, sections that in large measure replicate the seaport crimes portions of S. 378 (as reported), a substantial expansion in federal forfeiture authority in terrorism and money laundering cases, and expansion of federal wiretapping authority to embrace investigations into twenty crimes for which the authority did not previously exist. A more detailed version of this report is available as CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report RL33027, 'USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- and Senate-approved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action'."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles
2005-08-10
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National Security Letters: Proposals in the 113th Congress [January 22, 2015]
"A National Security Letter (NSL) is roughly comparable to an administrative subpoena. Various intelligence agencies use NSLs to demand certain customer information from communications providers, financial institutions, and consumer credit reporting agencies under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the National Security Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Congress weighed several NSL amendments during the 113th Congress. The House passed one, H.R. 3361. The Senate failed to provide the three-fifths vote necessary for cloture on another, S. 2685. Yet in the end, the 113th Congress adjourned without enacting any of the proposed NSL amendments. […] As an additional oversight tool, S. 1215 and S. 1599 would have returned all but two of the NSL statutes to their pre-USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001] form, effective June 1, 2015. The exceptions would have been the National Security Act NSL statute, which evokes few privacy concerns, and the sweeping, USA PATRIOT Act-born, Fair Credit Reporting Act NSL statute, which the bills would have repealed. This report reprints the text of the five NSL statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act (to which form they would have been returned under S. 1125 and H.R. 1805). Related reports include CRS [Congressional Research Service] Report R40138, Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Extended Until June 1, 2015, by Edward C. Liu, and CRS Report RL33320, National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background, by Charles Doyle."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles
2015-01-22
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Sex Trafficking: Proposals in the 114th Congress to Amend Federal Criminal Law [April 29, 2015]
"Existing federal law outlaws sex trafficking and provides a variety of mechanisms to prevent it and to assist its victims. Members have offered a number of proposals during the 114th Congress to bolster those efforts. Several clarify, expand, or supplement existing federal criminal law. For instance, Senator Cornyn's S. 178, which passed the Senate, and Representative Poe's H.R. 181, which passed the House, would confirm that federal commercial sex trafficking prohibitions apply to the customers of such enterprises. The bills would also constrict the defense of those who engage in illicit sexual activities with children. Both bills would afford state and federal law enforcement officials greater access to court-supervised electronic surveillance in sex trafficking cases. Both would also expand victims' statutory rights and remove stringent limits on appellate enforcement of those rights. S. 178, along with Senator Kirk's S. 572 and Representative Wagner's H.R. 285, would bring culpable advertisers within the reach of the federal law which proscribes commercial sex trafficking."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Doyle, Charles
2015-04-29
