US President George W. Bush will endorse further measures today to tighten anti-terrorism legislation, including denying bail to terror suspects, expanding the death penalty and bypassing grand juries to issue subpoenas.
"Over the course of the last two years as we've been taking significant steps to combat terrorism at home we've come across some areas where additional authority is needed," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
Bush is to unveil his proposals in a speech to a Homeland Security FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, outside Washington, at 3.15pm EDT (8.15pm Irish time).
McClellan played down suggestions the measures comprised a "Patriot II," package, supplementing the "USA Patriot Act" passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, but said Bush would endorse proposals already under consideration in Congress.
The original Patriot Act has drawn fire from civil liberties groups and their supporters in Congress, and a Senate Democratic source said Republicans have been seeking alternate ways to package new anti-terror measures.
Bush will urge Congress to pass three major measures, McClellan said. They are:
- Allowing law enforcement authorities to bypass a judge or grand jury and issue "administrative subpoenas" in terrorism investigations where "time is of the essence."
- Expanding the ability to presumptively deny bail for terrorism suspects. McClellan said this was essential to preventing suspects from fleeing.
- Expanding the death penalty for terror related crimes.