New Bipartisan Bill Expands Surveillance Powers and Criminal Penalties

U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill Tuesday that could greatly expand the electronic surveillance powers of police and ratchet up penalties relating to certain computer crimes. Known as the Provide Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (PATRIOT) Act, the . . . U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill Tuesday that could greatly expand the electronic surveillance powers of police and ratchet up penalties relating to certain computer crimes. Known as the Provide Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (PATRIOT) Act, the bill was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., and John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., and is expected to be debated in committee Wednesday afternoon.

"It's incredibly likely to make it through," said an aide to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

An earlier version of the bill, known as the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), was held up over civil rights concerns last week. The members of the House Judiciary Committee worked through the weekend and late Monday to draft the new PATRIOT Act, said a staffer.

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