House Bill Would Expand Federal Detention Powers

But Laura W. Murphy, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington office, said the compromise was "inadequate" and "confers unprecedented detention authority on the attorney general."

The House compromise would also give the government multiple wiretap powers in terrorism cases so that surveillance would be attached to an individual rather than a particular telephone.

It would also make it easier for law enforcement officials to obtain wiretaps. Under existing law, wiretaps can be obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act if the primary purpose for getting the information is intelligence, rather than criminal enforcement. Ashcroft had sought to use the FISA provision if intelligence gathering was merely "a purpose." The proposed House legislation would compromise with "a significant purpose."

The wiretap provision would expire in December 2003; renewing it would require congressional approval.

Law enforcement officials would be able to get court orders allowing them to retrieve records of e-mails and other electronic communications, not just telephone records.

Such orders would not entitle investigators to review the content of e-mails and telephone calls, however, and electronic evidence obtained illegally would be unusable.

The legislation also grants Ashcroft's wish to remove the statute of limitations from a number of terrorism offenses, while increasing maximum penalties for terrorism-related crimes and expanding offenses to include support or expert advice to terrorists.

Those gathering intelligence information would now be allowed to share their information with criminal investigators.

The proposed legislation would drop provisions Ashcroft had sought that would allow certain intelligence information gathered overseas to be admitted in U.S. courts even if the methods used to obtain the information would cause the evidence to be thrown out of court if it had been gathered domestically.

Also removed were Ashcroft provisions that would have allowed authorities to search a suspect's home without notification that they had searched, and provisions allowing the release of student records to authorities.

The committee, while honoring many of the requests Ashcroft made, modified some of those provisions.

The lawmakers backed a list of crimes that Ashcroft wanted characterized as terrorism but added language that such crimes must be "calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion or to retaliate against government conduct."

Prosecutors would also have more ability to share grand jury information with other government officials investigating terrorism, but they would need court approval to do so.

Ashcroft would also have expanded ability to obtain business records of suspects, but he would not have the power he sought to do so without going to court first.

To protect civil liberties, the House legislation would create a new inspector general's office in the Justice Department for civil rights and civil liberties; it would be responsible for handling complaints and reporting to Congress.

The proposal would also increase, to $ 10,000 from $ 1,000, the damages private citizens could seek from the government for civil liberties violations.

Staff writer John Lancaster contributed to this report.