Editorial
Sun should set on part of Patriot Act

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Defeat in Congress of an effort to exempt libraries and book stores from a troubling section of the USA Patriot Act is disappointing.

Thursday's near miss in the U.S. House shows a substantial skepticism that should inform Congress when the act's Section 215 sunsets at the end of 2005. Under the section, law-enforcement officials can get warrants for library and bookstore records using a lower standard than the probable cause required for criminal warrants. The amendment would have restored the higher standard. For librarians especially, confidentiality of patron records is a philosophical underpinning. It is the law in 48 states and a policy statement in two — but federal law rules.

In rough-and-tumble voting Thursday, House Republican leadership kept the 15-minute vote open an extra 23 minutes to twist arms after an amendment to repeal the act's Section 215 appeared to be passing. Supporters chanted "shame" as the tally changed to 210-210, meaning defeat by House rules.

Amendment sponsor Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, was joined by Idaho's conservative Rep. Butch Otter as a co-sponsor, but the vote broke largely along party lines.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, who voted against the amendment, said this week he made a mistake. A different vote might have changed the outcome, although it's not clear whether others could have been persuaded to change their votes.

Washington's three Republican members, George Nethercutt, Doc Hastings and Jennifer Dunn also opposed the amendment, while the rest of the state's Democrats voted for it.

Earlier, Smith echoed comments that there was no evidence warrants were being abused. But there's no way to know.

The most fearsome aspect of Section 215 is its secretiveness. The American Library Association took the Justice Department to court last year to find out how often warrants were being requested. Last fall, Attorney General John Ashcroft said none had been requested but officials aren't saying whether any have been issued since. The response is that the information is classified.

Passed quickly after the September 2001 terrorist attacks and with little debate, the Patriot Act has some measures that will sunset, requiring the scrutiny missed the first time around. Sanders introduced his amendment because he was denied a hearing on his Freedom to Read Protection Act.

Judging from last week's vote, there is plenty of concern about a lower standard for permitting federal snooping into the reading habits of citizens.