Kucinich, Sensenbrenner spar over Patriot Act before, during House debate

Today's debate on whether to extend surveillance authorities in the Patriot Act got testy before the formal debate started at about 2:25 p.m.

In a one-minute speech on the House floor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) cited a report that said the FBI has conducted thousands of warrantless searches using so-called "national security letters." These letters are a form of subpoena that the FBI and other agencies have used to demand records, and they are not subject to any judicial oversight.

"The Patriot Act is a destructive undermining of the Constitution," Kucinich said. "We started this Congress off with a discussion about reading the Constitution. Many of us carry Constitutions with us in our pocket. How about today we take a stand for the Constitution to say that all Americans should be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and to make certain that the attempt to reauthorize the Patriot Act is beat down."

But Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) replied in his own one-minute speech that the Patriot Act did not authorize national security letters, which were instead authorized in a 1986 bill authored by Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.).

"It was [in] his national security letter authorization that the abuses were contained," Sensenbrenner said. "I would hope, as we debate the temporary reauthorization of three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, that we not paint that act with a broad brush."

During the debate, Kucinich responded by saying the Patriot Act expanded the list of agencies that are authorized to issue national security letters. Sensenbrenner responded to that by saying the authority for the letters was made permanent in 2006, and that the Patriot Act actually gave recipients of these letters the option of judicial review.

Democrats who spoke today opposed extension of the Patriot Act, and in his opening remarks, Sensenbrenner noted that House Democrats such as then-House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) supported the extension last year and managed the debate over the bill. In his closing remarks in the debate, current Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) noted that the Obama administration supports the extension.

The bill would extend the authority that allows U.S. agents to conduct "roving surveillance" of targets, collect business records and other tangible intelligence records, and surveil solo operators who are not tied to a specific terrorist group but may pose a threat to the United States. The House is expected to approve the extension in a vote scheduled for about 6:30 p.m.

-- Updated at 3:11 p.m.