nov04d.indd


W  a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  Bernadette Murphy 

Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 passes in 
Senate—Makes way for national ID card 
The National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, S 
2845, was passed by the Senate on October 6, 
and one provision of the bill makes way for the 
establishment of a national identifi cation card 
system. The provision, introduced by Senator 
John McCain (R­Arizona), essentially creates a 
national ID card system by requiring all states 
to conform to database standards for driver’s 
licenses and state IDs. Once federalized, driv­
er’s licenses would become the key to access 
personal information about the holder. 

ALA has long worked in opposition to 
proposals calling for a national ID system and 
other initiatives that needlessly intrude into 
personal privacy. The creation of a standard­
ized system across all states threatens to open 
the door to a national ID card system, but 
without the full and public debate that should 
occur regarding such a proposal. 

The National Intelligence Reform Act is 
based substantially on recommendations from 
the 9/11 Commission report, but the McCain 
provision for a national ID card was not one 
of the 9/11 commission’s recommendations. 
Library supporters are asked to call their sena­
tors to express their concern with this part of 
the bill. You may call any member of Congress 
toll­free at (800) 839­5276. 

Court decision on PATRIOT Act may 
affect libraries 
September 29 marked an important victory for 
civil liberties when U.S. District Judge Victor 
Marrero struck down Section 505 of the PA­
TRIOT Act, which permitted the FBI to obtain 
subscriber information and toll billing records 
and other records from electronic communica­
tions service providers “without any judicial 
oversight or opportunity for challenge.” 

Section 505 authorizes the FBI to issue 
National Security Letters (NSL) to compel 
production of certain records whenever the 
FBI certifies that those records are relevant to 

Bernadette Murphy is communications specialist at ALA’s 
Washington Offi ce, e-mail: bmurphy@alawash.org 

a terrorism or counter­terrorism investigation. 
And, like Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, NSL 
recipients are subject to a limitless gag order 
that forbids disclosure of even the fact that the 
FBI has sought or obtained records. 

Since many libraries may be “electronic 
service providers” if they provide public access 
to the Internet, libraries are among the entities 
that may benefit from this ruling. 

In striking down the provision, Marrero 
found that the secret administrative subpoenas 
violated the Fourth Amendment because they 
“effectively bar or substantially deter any judi­
cial challenge to the NSL.” The court further 
found that even if judicial review were pro­
vided, the gag order violated the First Amend­
ment because it represented “a prior restraint 
on speech that was sweeping in scope” and 
appeared to apply “in perpetuity.” 

While the judge’s order represents an 
important milestone in the fight to cut back 
on the worst excesses of the Patriot Act, it 
does not have any immediate effect because 
the judge stayed enforcement of its judgment 
for 90 days in order to allow the government 
time either to appeal to the Second Circuit or 
to raise objections in the District Court. The 
Department of Justice has indicated that it will 
appeal the decision. 

However, longer term, the decision may 
have an impact on pending litigation chal­
lenging the gag order in Section 215, which 
is virtually identical to the gag order struck 
down by the court. 

(“Forging the library. . .” cont. from page 597) 
As a result of the integration of library resources 
into CMSP courses, we have developed strong 
collaborative relationships. We look forward 
to watching how the integration of library re­
sources in CMSPs will alter the dynamics of our 
daily responsibilities as librarians. 

Ultimately, we hope the CMSP integration 
will enable us to reach a larger number of 
our students, teaching them the information 
literacy skills they need for academic and 
professional success. Students are, after all, 
the number one reason we pursued and will 
continue to pursue this integration. 

C&RL NewsNovember 2004 / 613 

mailto:bmurphy@alawash.org