Act Now! Letter Asks Booksellers to Help in Urgent Patriot Act Effort

On Wednesday, May 18, ABA e-mailed a letter to a targeted list of approximately 300 ABA member bookstores in the Congressional districts of key House Representatives who could play an important role in amending Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. ABA is urging these booksellers to help its efforts to persuade these representatives that Section 215 needs to be amended to protect the privacy of bookstore and library patrons.

With the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence set to conduct a closed-door Patriot Act markup session on Thursday, May 26, ABA is reminding booksellers that it is imperative to act on this issue quickly. Many observers expect that the legislation coming out of the committee will reauthorize all sunsetting provisions and expand the already-broad authority of some provisions of the USA Patriot Act.

In the letter, ABA COO Teicher explained, "We are increasing our efforts to persuade a small number of House members to join us ... [and] your representative is one of this select group that might very well make the difference in a closely divided Congress. So, your help in persuading your representative is crucial."

Among the Representatives being targeted are those who co-sponsored Rep. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157) in the last Congress, but who have not in the present Congressional session; those congresspeople who voted for Sanders' cut-off measure last July but who are not H.R. 1157 co-sponsors; and representatives who switched their votes on the cut-off measure at the last minute.

In the letter, Teicher wrote, "In the next several months, your member of Congress is going to play a key role in determining whether Congress restores the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act. Will you help us persuade him or her to help?"

ABA is asking these booksellers to add their name to a letter that it will send to their respective representatives requesting a meeting in the local district. ABA will arrange for the delivery of the letter and coordinate the scheduling of a meeting, and the association will also help booksellers prepare for the meeting by providing them with talking points and whatever other information they might require.

In the letter Teicher stressed, "Given the uncertainties of the legislative calendar and the possibility that this issue could come up at any time in the coming weeks, we hope to schedule these meetings immediately. So, please let me know as soon as possible if we can add your name to the letter as well as to the list of people who will meet with your member of Congress. You can indicate your willingness to participate by simply replying to this e-mail with the word 'YES.' Please reply as soon as possible."

To learn more about the Campaign for Reader Privacy, go to www.bookweb.org/read/7679. --David Grogan