House Passes Patriot Act with Limitations
July 25, 2005

In an effort to continue to protect our homeland and citizens from violent and murderous attacks by terrorists, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation last week renewing the USA Patriot Act (HR 3199). The Patriot Act's provisions, which were initially approved by Congress after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, were due to expire at the end of this year. The House's action is a necessary step to help keep Americans safe.

After the horrific events of 9/11, in which some 3,000 innocent Americans were murdered at the hands of fanatical Muslim terrorists, Congress worked with our law enforcement and intelligence communities to prevent more such attacks. It was immediately clear that barriers existed in our laws which prevented law enforcement from getting the information they needed to stop terrorists in their tracks before they could again do us harm.

One of the major benefits of the Patriot Act as passed in 2001, and which was renewed by the House last week, is the ability it gives our law enforcement and intelligence communities to share information about terrorist activity. After 9/11, it was apparent that terrorists were determined to infiltrate our communities and quietly formulate their plans of attack. Yet, the FBI, Federal prosecutors, intelligence officials and local law enforcement - all of whom might have pieces of the puzzle - were not allowed to share this vital information. This arrangement put us into a position of picking up the pieces after an attack, rather than being able to prevent it.

The USA Patriot Act affords law enforcement many valuable tools to stop terrorism, including allowing surveillance against more crimes of terror, such as the use of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. It allows Federal agents to follow sophisticated terrorists trained to evade detection. It also enables law enforcement to conduct investigations without tipping off terrorists.

The Patriot Act also brought the law up-to-date with new technologies used by terrorists and streamlined the process for law enforcement to obtain terrorism-related search warrants - removing the need to obtain multiple search warrants from different jurisdictions which only delayed access to critical information. As we have learned from 9/11, we not only must connect-the-dots to locate terrorists in America, but we must also act quickly in order to shut them down.

While many of the Patriot Act's provisions were given permanent approval, two portions were reauthorized for another ten years when they will be again subject to Congressional reauthorization. These provisions deal with law enforcement's access to business and library records. Many have misunderstood these provisions to mean that law enforcement now has unfettered access to everyone's personal reading or business activities. This is not true. Such access is strictly limited to foreign intelligence cases and is subject extensive court order. These provisions are needed to halt terrorist communication and financing, among other activities. We know that terrorists are well aware of loopholes in current law and are seeking ways to exploit those loopholes - such as using public libraries as research and communication centers to plan and coordinate attacks.

As a senior member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, I can say that terrorists remain determined to hit us again and have not stopped trying since 9/11. However, thanks to the Patriot Act we now have a greater ability to monitor them and prevent new attacks. The terrorists have repeatedly shown us that we cannot afford to let down our guard.