WASHINGTON, D.C. - Continuing to fight to protect American’s civil rights and civil liberties, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) will vote against today’s bill, H.R. 3199, as she voted against the original USA Patriot act that was enacted almost four years ago.

Rep. Woolsey spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in opposition to expanding the USA Patriot Act.  If passed, the bill would remove Congressional oversight and make many measures of the USA Patriot Act permanent.  Unless reauthorized, the USA Patriot Act is set to expire on December 31, 2005.

The following are Rep. Woolsey’s words as written for the U.S. House of Representatives:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to - and utter disgust with - this bill. 

“Just as a bad movie is often followed by an even worse sequel, so it is with the PATRIOT Act. 

PATRIOT II does little to correct the flaws in the original legislation.  Basic civil liberties continue to be in jeopardy; the bill expands police powers; it continues to authorize invasive violations of our medical records, our library borrowing habits, and other private affairs that have nothing to do with terrorism.

“PATRIOT II restricts freedom instead of expanding it.  The irony is cruel, Mr. Speaker - in defense of freedom, we are undermining freedom.

"I believe many of my colleagues voted for the original PATRIOT Act because of the sunset provisions… because they were assured this was a temporary measure for extraordinary times. 

“Now all but two of the sunsets have been stripped from the bill, and those two come only after 10 years.  So now we know the truth - the PATRIOT Act was never intended as an emergency post-9/11 action…its authors were always interested in a permanent clampdown on civil liberties.

“This bill is Constitutional graffiti, Mr. Speaker.  Patriotism means affirming and celebrating the values that have made America strong for more than two centuries.  Legislation that violates several constitutional amendments has no business calling itself the PATRIOT Act.”