National Security Letters Reform Act To Curtail Patriot Act Abuse Re-introduced

New legislation was re-introduced today by Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to rein in Patriot Act abuse.

The bipartisan bill, National Security Letters Reform Act of 2009, aims to curb rampant abuse of that power by federal law enforcement following the expansion of the Patriot Act and was introduced with 17 cosponsors. NSLs are secret subpoenas used to demand personal customer records from Internet Service Providers, financial institutions and credit companies without prior court approval.

“To ensure that Americans’ privacy and free speech rights are protected, there must be clear oversight and strict guidelines tied to the use of NSLs,â€