[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    USA PATRIOT AND TERRORISM PREVENTION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill, (H.R. 3199) to 
     extend and modify authorities needed to combat terrorism, and 
     for other purposes:
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I certainly believe that the United 
States needs to be vigilant in protecting our nation and combating 
terror; however, we must be careful that we do not unnecessarily 
sacrifice our civil liberties in pursuit of our enemies.
  While many of the provisions were needed, both then and now, when 
Congress passed the original PATRIOT Act in October 2001, we rightfully 
placed sunset clauses on certain provisions that infringed on our civil 
liberties and granted extraordinary powers to federal authorities. 
These sunset clauses were incorporated in order to provide us with the 
opportunity to reexamine and reevaluate whether the need for such 
invasive powers continues to outweigh their sometimes overly intrusive 
nature.
  Rather than providing Congress with the opportunity to evaluate the 
effectiveness of a measure and correct any abuses, the PATRIOT Act 
Reauthorization would renew two of the original sunset provisions for a 
period of ten years and make the rest of the temporary provisions 
permanent. This would effectively remove all Congressional oversight 
over the PATRIOT Act. As a result, Americans would forever forfeit some 
of their most cherished privacy rights and precious civil liberties.
  One of these provisions gives federal investigators authority to 
examine and access individual records at libraries and bookstores. 
Under this measure, federal authorities do not have to demonstrate 
probable cause of criminal activity or of an individual's connection to 
a foreign power. In addition, libraries and bookstores are prohibited 
from informing patrons that the government is monitoring their reading 
transactions. While there is broad bipartisan opposition to this 
provision, the Republican leadership, in a gross abuse of the 
democratic process, failed to allow even a vote on an amendment that 
would repeal this egregious provision.
  Measures like this are not going to help us prevail in the war 
against terrorism. Instead, we should be providing our law enforcement 
agencies with sufficient risk-based funding, so that they can be 
adequately equipped to protect our homeland. Yet, the Bush 
administration continues to cut funding for state and local law 
enforcement, the men and women in our communities who serve on the 
front lines of domestic security.
  I too am committed to keeping our nation safe while we are fighting 
the war on terror. But at the same time, it is just as imperative that 
we protect our constitutionally guaranteed civil rights. A free society 
is what makes our nation great, and now, more than ever, it is crucial 
that we protect our civil liberties with unshakable resolve.

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