Breaking News: House of Representatives Enters PATRIOT Fray With Two New Surveillance Reform Bills: Via EFF.org Updates.

This afternoon, leaders in the House of Representatives introduced their own USA PATRIOT Act reform bill, responding to the disappointing PATRIOT renewal bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago. The new bill — the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (HR 3845) — was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr.; Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler; and Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott.

The text of the bill is available here [PDF]; a section-by-section summary of the bill is available here [PDF]. Based on EFF's initial review, the new bill is a significant improvement over the deeply flawed Senate bill, containing a substantial number of significant new checks and balances to the government's spying authorities under the PATRIOT Act — much like Senator Feingold's JUSTICE Act in the Senate, which was supported by EFF. [ Read more ... ]