Congress wrote the Patriot Act so that 15 provisions expire at the end of the year. The Bush administration is pressing to make permanent all of the expanded powers in the act, but both liberal and conservative groups have called the act an intrusion on civil liberties.

“The tools contained in the USA Patriot Act have proven to be essential weapons in our arsenal to combat the terrorists and now is not the time for us to be engaging in unilateral disarmament,” Gonzales said Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The hearing marked the opening of what is expected to be an extensive review of the act, which was passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Utah's delegation is divided in its support. Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett support the act, while Reps. Jim Matheson and Rob Bishop want changes made to rein in portions of the law. Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, says he will weigh the issue in upcoming hearings.

Gonzales told senators the government has exercised its Patriot Act powers sparingly since it became law in October 2001. Since then, investigators have sought 49 “roving wiretaps” allowing them to listen to cell phone conversations, and have used the act to obtain business records on 35 occasions.

It has helped disrupt terrorist plots and break up terrorist cells, Gonzales said.

Hatch said he supports keeping the act whole.

“A lot of hysteria that has come allegedly from Patriot Act violations really don't amount to anything and cannot be justified,” he said. He held 24 oversight hearings as Judiciary Committee chairman and said he never saw one substantiated case of abuse or misuse.

“That is just not correct,” said Timothy Edgar of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The Patriot Act clearly has been misused and abused and we've got clearly documented examples.”

Most notably the group points to the case of Brandon Mayfield, an attorney from Oregon, who was falsely implicated as a suspect in the Madrid bombing case. Patriot Act provisions allowed the FBI to secretly search Mayfield's home.

Matheson and Bishop, who often differ on policy issues, agree parts of the Patriot Act should be reworked.

“Literally, the smoke was still rising form the Pentagon when this [passed],” Matheson said. “I think this is the time to have a healthy discussion and talk about the provisions that are reasonable and talk about provisions that are unreasonable.”

Matheson is uneasy with the authority to conduct “sneak and peek” searches, which allow the government to notify an individual of a search warrant weeks after the search has already been conducted, and the authority to subpoena personal records, including, potentially, library, medical and business records.

Gonzales said the Justice Department has not sought any records from libraries since the act passed.

“I have no intention of rummaging through the library records or medical records of Americans,” he said. However, when asked by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter if the authority could be rescinded, Gonzales said such records could be helpful and the option should remain open.

The “sneak-and-peek” authority does not expire at the end of the year. The Justice Department has sought 155 such warrants since 2001.

Bishop co-sponsored a bill last year to rein in parts of the act. He also voted at one point to block subpoenas of library and business records under the act, but switched his vote under pressure from House leaders. Bishop remains skeptical about portions of the act and will support efforts to revise it, said his chief of staff, Scott Parker.

Bennett believes the act has given law enforcement valuable anti-terrorist tools, but he is watching the hearings closely to gauge the effectiveness of provisions set to lapse, said spokeswoman Mary Jane Collipriest. If changes are shown to be needed, he would support them.

Cannon, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled begin a series of hearings on the Patriot Act today , said he supports giving law enforcement the tools they need, but they must be balanced against civil liberties.