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Summary:
Several sections of Title II of the USA PATRIOT Act (the Act) relating to
enhanced foreign intelligence and law enforcement surveillance authority expire on
December 31, 2005. Thereafter, the authority remains in effect only as it relates to
foreign intelligence investigations begun before sunset or to offenses or potential
offense begun or occurring before that date. There may be some disagreement of
whether a "potential offense" is a suspected crime, an incomplete crime, or both.
The consequences of sunset are not the same for every expiring section. In
some instances the temporary provision has been replaced with a permanent one; in
some, other provisions have been made temporary by attached to an expiring section;
in still others, the apparent impact of termination has been mitigated by related
provisions either in the Act or elsewhere.
The temporary provisions are: sections 201 (wiretapping in terrorism cases),
202 (wiretapping in computer fraud and abuse felony cases), 203(b) (sharing wiretap
information), 203(d) (sharing foreign intelligence information), 204 (Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pen register/trap & trace exceptions), 206
(roving FISA wiretaps), 207 (duration of FISA surveillance of non-United States
persons who are agents of a foreign power), 209 (seizure of voice-mail messages
pursuant to warrants), 212 (emergency disclosure of electronic surveillance), 214
(FISApen register/ trap and trace authority), 215 (FISAaccess to tangible items), 217
(interception of computer trespasser communications), 218 (purpose for FISA
orders), 220 (nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence), 223
(civil liability and discipline for privacy violations), and 225 (provider immunity for
FISA wiretap assistance).
The unimpaired provisions of Title II are: sections 203(a)(sharing grand jury
information), 203(c)(procedures for grand jury andwiretap information sharing that
identifies U.S. persons), 205 (employment of translators by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation), 208 (adding 3 judges to FISA court), 210 (access to payment source
information from communications providers), 211 (communications services by
cable companies), 213 (sneak and peek warrants), 216 (law enforcement pen register/
trap and trace changes), 219 (single-jurisdiction search warrants for terrorism), 221
(trade sanctions), and 222 (provider assistance to law enforcement agencies).
This report is available in an abridged version (without its footnotes, chart, and
most of its citations to authority) as CRS Report RS21704, USA PATRIOT Act
Sunset: A Sketch.
