[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E63-E64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CITY OF ALEXANDRIA RESOLUTION REGARDING IMPACT OF USA PATRIOT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 28, 2004

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, last week the President made a 
number of comments about the need to extend and enhance the USA PATRIOT 
Act during his State of the Union speech. It is with that address to 
the Nation in mind, that I rise today to insert into the Record a 
resolution passed by a local jurisdiction in my district. On November 
11, 2003, the city of Alexandria, VA, passed a resolution which 
requests that Congress assess the impact of the USA PATRIOT Act and 
other Federal antiterrorism efforts. The resolution calls on Congress 
to repeal provisions of the act, other laws, regulations, policies, and 
practices that infringe on personal rights, liberties, and due process.
  I support the community spirit and civic concern that led to the 
passage of this resolution. I agree with many of the points expressed 
in the resolution and have been troubled by the interpretation and 
implementation of a number of the PATRIOT Act's provisions. I look 
forward to these issues being revisited in the coming year. The 
American people deserve nothing short of a full and open debate on 
these issues so greatly affecting civil liberties and the role of 
government in peoples' personal lives.

                          Resolution No. 2088

       Whereas, the Alexandria City Council is committed to 
     upholding the United States Constitution and its Bill of 
     Rights;
       Whereas, the City of Alexandria has a long history of 
     working to obtain and preserve the civil rights and liberties 
     of its residents;
       Whereas, the City has a diverse and multi-ethnic 
     population, and everyday embraces the richness of community 
     that includes immigrants, whose contributions to the City are 
     vital to its economy, culture and civic character;
       Whereas, the City has among its residents many who were 
     affected directly and many more who were affected indirectly, 
     by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, both in New York 
     City and at the Pentagon, only a short distance from this 
     Chamber as well as in Somerset County, Pennsylvania;
       Whereas, this nation's need to respond to those terrible 
     events, and to protect itself from future acts of terrorism, 
     does not diminish the commitment of the City or of its 
     residents, regardless of their personal circumstances, to the 
     Constitutional rights and liberties that are the precious 
     entitlement of all;
       Whereas, the Alexandria City Council believes there is no 
     inherent conflict between national security and the 
     preservation of liberty--that Americans can be both safe and 
     free;
       Whereas, the Alexandria City Council is proud of the 
     cooperative work among federal, state and local law 
     enforcement officials to protect the safety of Alexandrians;
       Whereas, federal, state and local government actions 
     designed to protect the public from terrorist attacks, such 
     as those that occurred on September 11, 2001, must be taken 
     in a rational and deliberative fashion to ensure that any new 
     security measure intended to enhance public safety does not 
     impair constitutional rights or infringe on civil liberties;
       Whereas, federal laws, regulations, policies, and practices 
     adopted since September 11, 2001, including provisions of 
     Public Law 107-56 (the Uniting and Strengthening America by 
     Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and 
     Obstruct Terrorism Act or ``USA PATRIOT'' Act), and related 
     Executive Orders, regulations and actions:
       (a) authorize the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens 
     to solitary confinement, based upon mere suspicion, without 
     being charged with any crime, without counsel, and without a 
     right to be heard;
       (b) authorize the indefinite incarceration of citizens 
     designated by the President based unspecified standards as 
     ``enemy combatants'' to solitary confinement, without being 
     charged with a crime, without counsel, and without a right to 
     be heard;
       (c) limit the traditional authority of the federal courts 
     to curb law enforcement abuses including electronic 
     surveillance;
       (d) limit judicial oversight of federal ``sneak and peek'' 
     searches and eliminate timely notice to the person who is the 
     subject of the search that his or her property has been 
     searched;
       (e) grant broad governmental access to personal medical, 
     financial, library, and educational records without judicial 
     oversight;
       (f) inhibit free speech and free association by defining 
     any person or group as a terrorist, or an act as terrorism, 
     without articulating the basis for the characterization or 
     giving the person or group so characterized a right to be 
     heard;
       (g) encourage local and state law enforcement personnel to 
     enforce federal immigration laws, and to use those laws as a 
     pretext

[[Page E64]]

     for detention of, and denial of due process to, persons who 
     are not reasonably suspected of criminal behavior;
       (h) permit government surveillance of public meetings, 
     including religious services, Internet chat rooms, holiday 
     gatherings, and political rallies without judicial oversight;
       Whereas, draft federal legislation, known as the Domestic 
     Security Enhancement Act (``DSEA'' or ``Patriot II''), 
     contains many new and sweeping provisions that further expand 
     government surveillance authority, increase government 
     secrecy, reduce governmental accountability, erode the 
     separation of powers essential for Constitutional checks and 
     balances, and diminish the right of all persons to the due 
     process of law guaranteed by the Constitution: Therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Alexandria City Council:
       1. Affirms its strong support for fundamental 
     constitutional rights and its opposition to federal measures 
     that infringe on civil liberties;
       2. Affirms its strong support for the rights of immigrants 
     and opposes measures that single out individuals for legal 
     scrutiny or enforcement activity based solely on their 
     country of origin;
       3. Directs the Police Department of the City of Alexandria 
     to ensure that it protects the constitutional rights of 
     Alexandria residents, that it maintains a relationship of 
     trust with those it is sworn to serve and protect, and that 
     it continues to abide by the Alexandria Police Department 
     directives that prohibit racial profiling or collecting 
     information not reasonably related to suspicion of criminal 
     behavior;
       4. Directs public libraries in the City to promote 
     unfettered access to information, which is the collective 
     heritage of humanity and which is a fundamental human right, 
     and to protect freedom of inquiry, universally recognized as 
     a driving force for the progression of civilization itself, 
     by:
       (a) posting this notice to library users ``WARNING: Under 
     Section 215 of the Federal ``USA PATRIOT'' Act (Public Law 
     107-56), records of the books and other materials you borrow 
     may be obtained by federal agents. That federal law prohibits 
     librarians from informing you if records about you have been 
     requested or obtained by federal agents. Questions about this 
     policy should be directed to: Attorney General John Ashcroft, 
     U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530,''
       (b) ensuring there is regular destruction of records that 
     identify a book borrower after the book is returned, or that 
     identify the name of an Internet user after use;
       5. Recommends that local businesses and institutions in the 
     City, and in particular booksellers, notify consumers that 
     purchase records are subject to disclosure to federal law 
     enforcement agencies;
       6. Directs the City Manager to ensure that, to the extent 
     legally possible, no City resources--including law 
     enforcement funds and educational administrative resources--
     may be used for unconstitutional activities, including but 
     not limited to monitoring the exercise by political and 
     religious groups of their First Amendment rights of 
     expression, association, assembly or petition, or obtaining 
     library, bookstore or website activity records without proper 
     authorization and without notice to the subjects of the 
     records;
       7. Directs the Clerk of Council to:
       (a) send a copy of this Resolution to Governor Warner with 
     a letter urging him to ensure that state anti-terrorism laws 
     and policies be implemented in a manner that does not 
     infringe on personal rights, liberties and due process; and
       (b) send a copy of this Resolution to Senators Warner and 
     Allen, and Congressman Moran, accompanied by a letter asking 
     that the resolution be read into the record, on the floor, 
     and urging Congress to assess the impact of the ``USA 
     PATRIOT'' Act and federal anti-terrorism efforts; to work to 
     repeal provisions of the ``USA PATRIOT'' Act and other laws, 
     regulations, policies and practices that infringe on personal 
     rights, liberties and due process; and to ensure that no 
     provision of the ``USA PATRIOT'' Act originally intended to 
     expire remains in effect past its sunset date; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, That the provisions of this Resolution shall be 
     severable, and that if any phrase, clause, sentence, or 
     provision of this Resolution is declared by a court of 
     competent jurisdiction to be contrary to the Constitutions of 
     the United States or of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the 
     validity of the remainder of this Resolution shall not be 
     affected thereby.

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