USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Brief Look

Publication Date: December 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Media, telecommunications, and information

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Abstract:

On December 9, 2005, House and Senate conferees reported out The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199). Among its other provisions, it makes permanent 14 of the 16 USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. It provides for greater congressional and judicial oversight of section 215 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) business records orders and section 206 FISA roving wiretaps and calls for both sections to sunset at the end of 2009. It expands law enforcement wiretap authority to cover more than 20 federal crimes. It establishes judicial review and enforcement procedures for national security letters. It revises federal criminal provisions relating to seaport and maritime security. It reenforces federal money laundering and forfeiture authority particularly in connection with terrorist offenses. It intensifies federal regulation of foreign and domestic commerce in methamphetamine precursors. It foregoes all but technical modifications in federal capital punishment procedures. It makes organization adjustments in the Department of Justice and Secret Service.