Charles Doyle
Senior Specialist in American Public Law
Three USA PATRIOT Act-related amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expire on February 28, 2011. None of the expiring provisions deal with National Security Letters (NSLs). The USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011 (S. 193), however, would both extend the expiration of those provisions and amend existing NSL authority. S. 193 corresponds in large measure to legislation reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the last Congress (S. 1692 (111th Cong.)).
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 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.
Originally, the NSL statutes authorized nondisclosure requirements prohibiting recipients from disclosing receipt or the content of an NSL to anyone, ever. They now permit judicial review of these secrecy provisions. As understood by the courts, recipients may request the issuing agency to seek and justify to the court the continued binding effect of any secrecy requirement.
S. 193 would return NSL statutes, as of December 31, 2013, to their pre-USA PATRIOT Act status. It would also codify existing law with respect to judicial review of NSL nondisclosure orders and expand existing audit and reporting requirements.
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. 193).
Date of Report: February 1, 2011
Number of Pages: 30
Order Number: R41619
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
Senior Specialist in American Public Law
Three USA PATRIOT Act-related amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expire on February 28, 2011. None of the expiring provisions deal with National Security Letters (NSLs). The USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011 (S. 193), however, would both extend the expiration of those provisions and amend existing NSL authority. S. 193 corresponds in large measure to legislation reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the last Congress (S. 1692 (111th Cong.)).
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 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.
Originally, the NSL statutes authorized nondisclosure requirements prohibiting recipients from disclosing receipt or the content of an NSL to anyone, ever. They now permit judicial review of these secrecy provisions. As understood by the courts, recipients may request the issuing agency to seek and justify to the court the continued binding effect of any secrecy requirement.
S. 193 would return NSL statutes, as of December 31, 2013, to their pre-USA PATRIOT Act status. It would also codify existing law with respect to judicial review of NSL nondisclosure orders and expand existing audit and reporting requirements.
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. 193).
Date of Report: February 1, 2011
Number of Pages: 30
Order Number: R41619
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
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