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FYI,<br>
<br>
The Executive Board of the Oregon Library Association (OLA)unanimously
and enthusiastically adopted the following Resolution on the 2009
Reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act at our meeting on October 2,
2009.
<p>Suzanne L. Sager<br>
Oregon ALA Chapter Councilor<br>
</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; text-transform: uppercase;">Resolution
on 2009 re<st1:stockticker w:st="on">auth</st1:stockticker>orization of
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1:place>
Patriot
Act<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, the Oregon
Library
Association is committed to encouraging free and open inquiry by
preserving the
privacy rights of library users, library employees, and persons living
in the
United States; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, the Oregon
Library
Association opposes governmental actions that suppress or chill free
and open
inquiry and<span style=""> </span>has called for the <a
href="http://www.ala.org/ala/deletedcontent.cfm?am_cms=%2ftemplate%2ecfm%3fsection%3difissues%26amp%3btemplate%3d%2fcontentmanagement%2fcontentdisplay%2ecfm%26amp%3bcontentid%3d76879&pub_loc=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eala%2eorg%2fala%2foif%2fifissues%2fusapatriotact%2ehtm"><span
style="color: windowtext;">USA PATRIOT Act</span></a> to be amended to
restore fundamental constitutional rights and safeguards that protect
the civil
liberties of library users, library employees, and U.S. persons; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, Section 215 of
the USA PATRIOT Act allows the FBI to secretly request and obtain
library
records for large numbers of individuals without reason to believe they
are
involved in illegal activity; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, Section 505 of
the USA PATRIOT Act permits the FBI to obtain records from libraries by
using
National Security Letters (NSL) without prior judicial oversight; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, Section 215
automatically requires and Section 505 permits the FBI to impose a
nondisclosure or “gag” order on the recipients, thereby prohibiting the
reporting of abuse of government authority and abrogating the
recipients’ First
Amendment rights; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;" lang="EN">FBI
Director Robert S. Mueller III testified before the Senate Judiciary
Committee
on March 25, 2009, that the FBI had used Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT
Act 223
times between 2004 and 2007<sup>1</sup>, and the Office of the
Inspector
General (OIG) of the Department of Justice reported in March 2008 that
the FBI
had made 192,499 National Security Letter requests from 2003 through
2006<sup>2</sup>;
and</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"></span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, the </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style=""><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">OIG reported in
March 2008 that “the FISA Court twice refused to authorize Section 215
orders
based on concerns that the investigation was premised on protected
First
Amendment activity, and the FBI subsequently issued NSLs to obtain
information”
without reviewing the underlying investigation to be sure it did not
violate
the statute’s First Amendment caveat<sup>3</sup>; and <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<span style=""></span>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Whereas, members of
Congress have introduced legislation to restore privacy rights and
address the
concerns of the Oregon Library Association such as: </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;" lang="EN">The Freedom
to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157 in the 108th Congress), the National
Security
Letters Reform Act (S. 2088 in the 110th Congress and H.R. 1800), The
USA
PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act (S. 1692) and the Judicious Use of
Surveillance Tools in Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act (S.1686);
now
therefore be it </span><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Resolved
that the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state>
Library Association:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">1. Opposes initiatives
on the part of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States</st1:country-region></st1:place> government to constrain the
free
expression of ideas or to inhibit the use of libraries;<span style="">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">2. Urges Congress to
repeal the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded National Security Letter Section
505 and
Section 215 authorities that allow the FBI to demand information about
people
who are not targets of an investigation and to reinstate standards
limiting the
use of these authorities to obtain information only about terrorism
suspects
and agents of foreign powers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">3. Urges Congress to
allow nondisclosure or “gag” orders of limited scope and duration only
when
necessary to protect national security and only upon the authority of a
court,
and ensure that targets of such orders have a meaningful right to
challenge
them before a fair and neutral arbiter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">4. Urges Congress to
intensify its oversight of the use of the USA PATRIOT Act as well as
other
government surveillance and investigations that limit the privacy
rights of
library users, library employees, and U.S. persons; and<span
class="NormalWebCharCharCharChar"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">5. Communicates this
resolution to Oregon’s Congressional Delegation, the Oregon
Legislature; <span style=""> </span>and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">6.<span style=""> </span>Urges
its members, <st1:state w:st="on">Oregon</st1:state>
librarians, <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oregon</st1:place></st1:state>
library trustees, and all library advocates to ask Congress to restore
crucial
safeguards protecting civil liberties.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">Sources<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">1.<span style=""> </span>Robert
S. Mueller. (March 25, 2009).<span style=""> </span>“Oversight of the
Federal Bureau of
Investigation,” <i style="">Hearing of the Senate
Judiciary Committee</i>.<span style=""> </span>Accessed
through LexisNexis Congressional database.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">2.<span style=""> </span>Office
of the
Inspector General, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Department of Justice. (March 2008).<span style=""> </span><i style="">A
Review of the FBI’s Use of National
Security Letters: Assessment of Corrective Actions and Examination of
NSL Usage
in 2006</i>, p. 110.<span style=""> </span>Available at <a
href="http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0803b/final.pdf"><span
style="color: windowtext;">http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0803b/final.pdf</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style=""> </span>Office
of the
Inspector General, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Department of Justice. (March 2008).<span style=""> </span><i style="">A
Review of the FBI’s Use of Section 215
Orders for Business Records in 2006, </i>p. 73.<span style="">
</span>Available at <a
href="http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0803a/final.pdf"><span
style="color: windowtext;">http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0803a/final.pdf</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<img alt="Portland State University logo"
src="cid:part1.05040206.01060709@pdx.edu" align="left" height="35"
width="165"><br>
<br>
<p
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Suzanne
L. Sager<br>
Library East, Cataloging<br>
Portland State University<br>
<br>
503-725-8169<br>
503-725-5799<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:sagers@pdx.edu">sagers@pdx.edu</a></p>
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