WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Tuesday launched its campaign to preserve and expand the USA Patriot Act, the much-debated anti-terrorism legislation enacted after Sept. 11.
In unusually strong language before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales defended the administration's use of the law and warned that any effort to dismantle it would be tantamount to "unilateral disarmament" in the war on terrorism.
The law, portions of which will expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts, has drawn opposition across the political spectrum, including civil liberties groups and libertarian conservatives concerned that it gives the government too much power to intrude into citizens' lives.
Gonzales said the government had used the act's most hotly debated sections dozens of times to investigate and prosecute terrorism and other crimes.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III -- testifying at the same hearing -- argued for expanding the bureau's authority to issue administrative subpoenas in terrorism cases, something that would give it access to a wider range of data without having to go to court.
The FBI has that authority in cases that include drug trafficking, healthcare fraud and child exploitation, Mueller said. But Democratic lawmakers have rejected previous administration requests for broader subpoena authority.
Tuesday's action marked the beginning of what was expected to be a long and wrenching congressional review of how the Patriot Act operated in practice.
The law was enacted with broad bipartisan support six weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, Congress is about to engage in a debate that could last months. Sixteen of the act's provisions, including some that U.S. officials consider essential, are set to expire this year.
To critics, the law -- which made it easier for the government to investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists -- has become a symbol of the abuses immigrants and others have suffered since Sept. 11. But public opinion remains divided, in part because much of the Patriot Act has been shrouded in secrecy.
Some congressional Republicans, including Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, have expressed concerns about how the law has operated and indicated that they think revisions are needed.
