On Feb. 11, 2010, Senate Finance Committee leaders agreed on language to extend three Patriot Act provisions that had been set to expire at the end of the month. Included in an unrelated jobs bill, the language for extending all the provisions until Feb. 28, 2011 ignores concerns about unwarranted government surveillance and seizures of property. The bill is expected to draw intense scrutiny from members of both parties, and the final decision to include the Patriot Act provisions remains undecided.

By including the extension into this bill, Congress is forcing support for a measure that each chamber’s committees have already voted to change. Committees in both the House and Senate  each approved different versions of a reauthorization bill last fall, but neither had been voted on. The Senate’s version would have renewed all of the powers with only minor changes, while the one in the House called for ending the never used “lone wolf” authority, but mostly reauthorizing the other two. The inclusion of a sunset clause for early 2011, however, will allow lawmakers to revisit the provisions after the dust has settled from the midterm elections of 2010.

According to Main Justice, here is a summary of the provisions that are due to expire:

  • Lone wolf: Allows government to track a target without any discernible affiliation to a foreign power, such as an international terrorist group. The provision applies only to non-U.S. persons. The government has never used it.

  • Business records: Allows investigators to compel third parties, including financial services and travel and telephone companies, to provide them access to a suspect’s records without the suspect’s knowledge.

  • Roving wiretaps: Allows the government to monitor phone lines or Internet accounts that a terrorism suspect may be using, regardless of whether others who are not suspects also regularly use them. The government must provide the FISA court with specific information showing the suspect is purposely switching means of communication to evade detection.