It depends on who you ask. But the DOJ and FBI and NSA are very good about getting what they want from Congress. I can't think of any clear examples in the last

It depends on who you ask. But the DOJ and FBI and NSA are very good about getting what they want from Congress. I can't think of any clear examples in the last 15 years when Congress has rolled back surveillance authority. (They're thinking of doing it now re: email search warrants, but (a) it will have little practical effect because major companies already require it following a court decision and (b) even that limited reform is still not final and could actually make things worse.) Remember, the Patriot Act was sitting on a shelf long before 9/11, with the DOJ looking for good arguments in favor of it: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20058797-281.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20058797-281.html Long before 9/11, the U.S. Department of Justice drafted the so-called Enhancement of Privacy and Public Safety in Cyberspace Act (PDF), which goes by the awkward and not very memorable acronym of EPPSCA. In July 2000, the Clinton administration forwarded EPPSCA to Congress, where it was introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and met with a generally chilly response.