TERRORISM »» WAR POWERS »» PATRIOT ACT »» Mar 04, 2024

Forty-five days after 9/11 and with little debate, President Bush signed into law the USA Patriot Act of 2001 which authorized the use of wartime procedures to capture and prosecute terrorists. In such haste, many lawmakers admitted they did not even read the bill’s text before voting for its passage. This law reversed many of the restrictions we imposed on our government after it was caught spying on private citizens and political groups in the 1970s. The Patriot Act suspends many of the civil liberties basic to our democracy. It allows the use of military tribunals, racial profiling, and indefinite incarceration without due process or evidence of wrongdoing. It also allows law enforcement agencies, with little oversight, to seize bank telephone and e-mail records for counterterrorism investigations. Disclosures by former NSA contractor Eric Snowden reveal the NSA has used the Patriot Act to justify the eavesdropping and collection of private communications between many millions of law-abiding Americans. Earlier, a New York federal appeals court judge ruled NSA’s systematic collection of Americans’ phone records is illegal, saying the program "exceeds the scope of what Congress authorized." A Justice Dept. report stated the FBI cannot produce a single example of this surveillance program being responsible for foiling a terrorist plot. The Patriot Act was due to sunset, or expire, in 2005 but until recently, it had been continuously reauthorized. Absent of Congressional action, the Patriot Act itself actually did expire in 2020, but much of the Act remains permanent - including 11 sections of Title II, which gives our government more authority to surveil, monitor and investigate Americans with fewer checks on abuse. Patriot Act supporters say we must choose between civil liberties and fighting terrorism, a choice of being either inconvenienced or unsafe. They believe the best way to prevent future NSA abuse is to strengthen congressional oversight over this agency. Opponents say this law puts at risk the personal freedoms and rights embodied in the Constitution which, in the past, we have gone to war to protect. They wish to repeal the Patriot Act saying it is unnecessary because our usual civil procedures are capable of identifying, prosecuting and punishing terrorists. The Patriot Act itself actually expired in 2020, but without Congressional action, much of the Act will remain permanent, including 11 sections of Title II. Title II is the main vehicle which permits authorities more authority to surveil, monitor and investigate Americans with fewer checks on abuse. Proposed Legislation: Reintroduction of H.R.1466 - Surveillance State Repeal Act (114th Congress 2015-2016) Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Mark Pocan (WI) I oppose reforming current Patriot Act policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA). I support repealing the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, except for acquiring intelligence information on entities not composed of U.S. persons that are engaged in the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by: 1.) Prohibiting acquisitions under FISA targeting a U.S. person without a warrant based on probable cause. 1.) Destroying any information collected under the repealed Acts if the information concerns a U.S. person that is not related to an investigation that is actively ongoing on the date of enactment of this Act. 2.) Prohibiting the federal government from requiring manufacturers of electronic devices and related software to build in mechanisms allowing the federal government to bypass encryption or privacy technology. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Mark Pocan (WI) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

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I support repealing the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, except for acquiring intelligence information on entities not composed of U.S. persons that are engaged in the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by: 1.) Prohibiting acquisitions under FISA targeting a U.S. person without a warrant based on probable cause. 1.) Destroying any information collected under the repealed Acts if the information concerns a U.S. person that is not related to an investigation that is actively ongoing on the date of enactment of this Act. 2.) Prohibiting the federal government from requiring manufacturers of electronic devices and related software to build in mechanisms allowing the federal government to bypass encryption or privacy technology. And wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Mark Pocan (WI) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.

Trustee Candidates

Representative If elected as a trustee, the campaign committee of Rep. Mark Pocan (WI) will be unconditionally awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting him to favorably consider either reintroducing H.R.1466 - Surveillance State Repeal Act (114th Congress (2015-2016), or a similar version thereof. Center for Constitutional Rights If elected as a trustee, Center for Constitutional Rights will be awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting these funds be used to advocate and work for the repeal of the 2001 Patriot Act. About: The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. We do that by combining cutting-edge litigation, advocacy and strategic communications in work on a broad range of civil and human rights issues including abusive immigration practices, corporate human rights abuses, and government surveillance.

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