Oberstar Votes No on PATRIOT Act Renewal

Oberstar Votes No on PATRIOT Act Renewal
Friday, July 22, 2005

WASHINGTON--Last night, the House of Representatives voted 257 to 171 to reauthorize the USA PATRIOT Act and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199). The bill would make permanent 14 of the16 provisions in the PATRIOT Act that are set to expire on December 31, 2005, and it would extend for a decade two other provisions pertaining to records' seizures and 'roving' wiretaps. Congressman James L. Oberstar opposed this legislation, because it fails to strike an appropriate balance that provides necessary law enforcement tools without improperly infringing on civil liberties.

"Sunsets were incorporated into the USA PATRIOT ACT to provide Congress an opportunity to revisit the bill's sweeping grants of power to federal authorities. This bill makes permanent 14 of 16 provisions of the Patriot Act and extends for ten years the remaining two provisions. Those two sections permit 'roving' wiretaps that apply to a person rather than a particular telephone, and allow the FBI to seize anyone's records from financial companies, libraries, doctors' offices and other businesses," said Oberstar. "Many of the temporary provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act should not be made permanent, nor should overly long time-lines be set up that eliminate meaningful review by Congress."

Before the PATRIOT Act, these investigatory requests had to be directed at "agents of foreign power." The PATRIOT Act allows such requests to be used against anyone, including American citizens, even if they are not suspected of doing anything wrong. Americans from all points on the political spectrum have raised concerns about the application of these powers and have called for meaningful reforms.

"While Congress has a duty to protect the American people from terrorism, it also must protect law-abiding American citizens from unaccountable, unchallengeable and unchecked government intrusion into their personal lives and private records," Oberstar added. "I would support meaningful and thoughtful reform of the PATRIOT Act that preserves constitutional liberties while preventing the continuation of overly broad powers that could lead to abuse. More can be done to protect and restore Americans' privacy rights, and I hope the House-Senate conference committee will address these concerns."

http://www.oberstar.house.gov//index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={0C671A79-B6DE-4227-9728-1E403083281F}&DE={7F92747D-5BD9-4A96-BABD-812FA94B8218}