National Security Letter Judicial and Congressional Oversight Act

Bill: 109-hr-4570
Sponsor: Rep. Harman, Jane [D-CA-36]
Introduced: 2005-12-16 in the House
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Armed Forces and National Security
Business records
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Counterintelligence
Court records
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal investigation
Diplomacy
Electronic government information
Espionage
Evidence (Law)
Finance and Financial Sector
Financial statements
Foreign agents
Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Government Operations and Politics
Government statistics
International Affairs
Judges
Magistrates
Religion
Religious liberty
Right of assembly
Right of petition
Right of privacy
Science, Technology, Communications
Searches and seizures
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: 
National Security Letter Judicial and Congressional Oversight Act - Prohibits a national security letter from issuing unless a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or a designated U.S. Magistrate Judge finds that: (1) the information sought is relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities; (2) such an investigation of a U.S. person is not conducted soley upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution; and (3) there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the information sought pertains to a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.
 
Requires the court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to establish an electronic system for the submission of documents and other information relating to such proceedings, and for the issuance of orders relating to national security letters.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that, in the case of a challenge to a nondisclosure requirement of a national security letter, a certification by the Attorney General or other appropriate head or deputy head of a federal department, agency, or instrumentality that disclosure of such a letter may endanger U.S. national security or interfere with diplomatic relations should not be considered conclusive evidence but only a rebuttable presumption that such disclosure would do so.
 
Directs the Attorney General to establish minimization and destruction procedures to ensure that information obtained pursuant to a national security letter regarding persons no longer of interest in an authorized investigation is destroyed. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-02-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
action_date: 2006-01-10
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-12-16
text: Introduced in House