A similar rule will be applied in the House vote next week, making the outcome there less certain than the vote in the Senate, which is expected to approve the four-year extension by a wide margin.
The Republican caucus remains divided between a small minority who oppose the extension on libertarian grounds, and a large majority who have backed legislation to extend the provisions for roving wiretaps and business records for six years, and the "lone wolf" provision indefinitely.
Given this division, Speaker Boehner and the House Republican leadership will rely on the Democrats to provide the necessary margin of votes to approve the extension bill. A spokesman for Boehner declared, "The speaker supports this common-sense proposal because this law has been crucial to detecting and disrupting terrorist plots and protecting the American people."
Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have urged Congress in a joint letter to extend all three surveillance powers for a long period of time, complaining that frequent, short-term extensions were disruptive of counterterrorism operations because they "increase the uncertainties borne by our intelligence and law enforcement agencies in carrying out their missions."
The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the "backroom deal" between Reid, McConnell and Boehner that insures a four-year extension with no congressional hearings and no public examination of the abuses of individual rights perpetrated over the past decade under the auspices of the Patriot Act.
According to the annual report of the Department of Justice released earlier this month, there was a huge increase in domestic spying during the first two years of the Obama administration, including the issuance of National Security Letters (NSLs) by the FBI.
In 2009, the FBI issued 14,788 NSLs on 6,114 individuals. In 2010 this figure doubled, with the bureau issuing 24,287 NSLs on 14,212 individuals. Wiretapping applications rose from 1,376 in 2009 to 1,579 in 2010.
Requests known as 215 orders, named after the provision now to be extended another four years, rose even more sharply. The FBI made 21 applications for 215 orders in 2009, then more than quadrupled its use of this procedure last year, making 96 applications.
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