President Obama’s FBI Director Robert Mueller (who was also George Bush’s FBI chief) is lobbying lawmakers to reauthorize sections of the PATRIOT Act, which are set to expire this year. According to the Washington Post, “Mueller told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee he hopes that the reauthorization of two provisions would be far less controversial than in previous years. One of those provisions, which helps authorities secure access to business records, ‘has been exceptionally helpful in our national security investigations,’ he said.”

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Mueller said that his agents had used the provision about 220 times between 2004 and 2007. Data for last year were not yet available, he said.

The measure allows investigators probing terrorism to seek a suspect’s records from third parties such as financial services and travel and telephone companies without notifying the suspect. The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the provision, saying it violates the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens.

Another provision, permitting roving wiretaps of terrorism suspects, was used 147 times and has helped eliminate “an awful lot of paperwork,” Mueller said. In the past, authorities had to seek court approval for each electronic device carried by a suspect, from a cellphone and a BlackBerry to a home computer. But under the provision, one warrant can cover all of those machines.

The ACLU issued a report this month describing “widespread abuse” of government authority under the Patriot Act.

“The Patriot Act has been disastrous for Americans’ rights,” said Caroline Frederickson, the director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. “Congress should use this year’s Patriot Act reauthorization as an opportunity to reexamine all of our surveillance laws.”