Cannon, Hatch clash on 'sunset' for Patriot Act

WASHINGTON — Plenty of ghosts haunt congressional halls these days, especially the ghosts of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror victims.

But one ghost may be looming larger than most — that of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who remains notorious for spying on American citizens and for assembling dossiers on politicos with more peccadilloes than common sense.

When the House reconvenes today, the agenda will include reauthorization of the Patriot Act, legislation passed in the aftermath of the terror attacks and a law that supporters say is critical to fighting terrorism. It is also a law that critics worry is an open door for government abuses, � la Hoover.

"I am a civil libertarian, and I have concerns," said Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who has been working with key legislative leaders to amend the act to mollify concerns that it allows the government too much intrusion into Americans' lives.

Cannon was part of the committee majority that sent a bill to the floor that imposes greater restrictions on government's powers to investigate its citizens. The House version sets the stage for a potential showdown with the Senate, which generally supports fewer restrictions.

Cannon, a member of the House Judiciary Committee that debated the bill, is going to vote for the House version of the bill, despite some reservations. But there is one thing he is adamant about: The law needs to have a sunset date when its provisions must be revisited by Congress and reauthorized or altered after a hearing to determine what, if any, abuses have occurred.

That insistence puts the conservative Utah congressman on a collision course with the Senate, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and an unabashed supporter of the Patriot Act.

"I prefer not to have sunset provisions in the laws," Hatch said. "If there are abuses, then they need to be addressed. If the laws work, we should keep them or even enhance them. If they don't work, we should eliminate them or modify them. So far, the evidence shows they are working."

But part of the problem is that the public doesn't see the evidence.

"Because of necessary secrecy laws, we may never know the full positive effects the Patriot Act is having on terrorism," Hatch said. "It is no small fact that we have not had another serious terrorism incident on American shores since enactment of the Patriot Act."

Hatch said the Department of Justice claims there have been more than 200 convictions in which the Patriot Act may have played a role.

Cannon, a fierce conservative, doesn't dispute the fact the Patriot Act offers important tools to fight terrorism.