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Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself |
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August 30, 2005 Act Now Before Congress Expands the Patriot Act The Patriot Act was passed, with minimal debate, a mere 45 days after 9/11 after intense pressure by the White House and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. Because of its size and the speed of its passage, many in Congress now admit that they did not properly read or review the enormous bill. Though some of the law is innocuous, several provisions dramatically weakened key checks and balances on government power, which prevent the abuse of our rights. In July, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed legislation to renew almost all of the expiring provisions and to extend the expiration date on the rest. Although the ACLU cannot endorse either bill, the Senate bill is significantly better than current law and much better than the House legislation, which expands the Patriot Act and only makes cosmetic—and fundamentally ineffective—changes to some of the most troubling provisions. Though not perfect, the Senate bill would represent an appropriate first step in any move to include the missing checks and balances against abuse in the Patriot Act. The Senate legislation takes steps toward reforming some of the most controversial Patriot Act provisions. For instance: It would improve the “library records” provision. Section 215, which actually applies to all records or “tangible things,” would be reformed to require an explicit showing of facts, more meaningful judicial review and a greater linkage to a specific individual who is either a suspected terrorist or spy or is in contact with a suspected terrorist or spy before allowing the federal government to use a court order to force libraries, hospitals, gun shops, hotels and other holders of personal information to hand over our records. It would include new limitations on secret searches. Even though it contains a troubling loophole, the Senate version would allow a shorter delay on notification when the government searches your home secretly with a “sneak and peek” search warrant under Section 213. These warrants can be obtained in any criminal investigation, and, in fact, the Justice Department has conceded that a full 88 percent of the secret warrants executed since 9/11 have been in non-terrorism cases. Both the House and Senate bills also still contain the open-ended “catch-all” justification for these warrants: when notice would “jeopardize” an investigation. It rejects the Bush administration proposal to expand the F.B.I.’s ability to engage in investigative fishing expeditions. Both the Senate and the House bills wisely reject a proposed expansion advanced by the Senate Intelligence Committee, and favored by the administration, that would give the federal government the power to write its own subpoenas for records held by hotels, libraries and similar institutions—all without any prior judicial approval. Urge your members of Congress to bring the Patriot Act back in line with the Constitution! Sample message:
As your constituent and a
concerned American, I urge you to bring the Patriot Act back in line
with the Constitution. I understand the House of Representatives and
the Senate will soon have to reconcile competing bills on Patriot
Act reauthorization, and--though it is not perfect--I urge you to
support the Senate version. The law must be fixed. Passing the Senate bill and the SAFE Act together would go a long way toward doing exactly that. Contact: ٠ Senator Larry Craig, 520 Hart Bldg., Washington, DC 20510, (202) 224-2752 or (208) 342-7985, http://www.craig.senate.gov/ ٠ Senator Mike Crapo, 239 Dirksen Bldg., Washington, DC 20510, (202) 224-6142 or (208) 334-1776, http://crapo.senate.gov/ ٠ Representative Butch Otter, 1711 Longworth Bldg, Washington DC 20515, (202) 225-6611 or (208) 336-9831, http://www.house,gov/otter/ ٠ Representative Mike Simpson, 1339 Longworth Bldg., Washington, DC 20515, (202) 225-5531 or (208) 334-1953, http://www.house.gov/simpson/ |