Last year, the House voted on a proposal to curtail the FBI’s ability to seize library and bookstore records. There had been dozens of reports of agents visiting libraries, asking for reading records, and defending their methods by hiding behind the Patriot Act. When lawmakers were given the chance to undo the measure, Dems and other opponents of the provision had the votes to win, but Republican leaders held the vote open until they could force wavering GOP lawmakers to change their mind.
Yesterday, there were no procedural tricks available — because the vote wasn’t even close.
The House voted Wednesday to block the FBI and the Justice Department from using the anti-terrorism Patriot Act to search library and bookstore records, responding to complaints about potential invasion of privacy of innocent readers.
Despite a veto threat from President Bush, lawmakers voted 238-187 to block the part of the anti-terrorism law that allows the government to investigate the reading habits of terrorism suspects.
This was not only a win for civil liberties and personal privacy, it was a surprising defeat for the Bush White House. The president had insisted that the provision remain in tact and said he would veto the bill over the changes. The House voted for the reversal anyway.
One, Bush is bluffing. There’s no way he’ll use the first veto of his presidency to fight Congress over the federal government’s ability to sift through library records.
Two, Bush’s veto threats seem to have lost their punch, haven’t they? The president threatened a veto over the highway bill, and lawmakers ignored him. He threatened a veto over stem-cell research, and lawmakers ignored him. He threatened a veto over the Patriot Act, and 238 members of the House (including 38 Republicans) ignored him.
It’s as if the president’s power is shrinking before our very eyes.