[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 75 (Friday, May 27, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN SUPPORT OF PROTECTING CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 2011

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise once again in opposition to the 
reauthorization of PATRIOT Act provisions. While it will come as no 
surprise to my colleagues that I find the PATRIOT Act objectionable in 
its entirety, the roving wiretap, ``any tangible thing,'' and lone wolf 
provisions of the law are by far the most toxic to our civil liberties.
  Nothing has changed that makes the extension of wiretapping of 
citizens, searches of our private records and information, or 
warrantless surveillance of individuals not connected to terrorism more 
acceptable. Now is the time to end what was supposed to be a temporary, 
state-of-emergency response to the events of 9/11. Over a decade later, 
organizations from the Cato Institute to the American Civil Liberties 
Union have documented abuses of the law, and Osama bin Laden has been 
killed--though there is no evidence that the PATRIOT Act helped to find 
him.
  The government's extension of the PATRIOT Act is hypocrisy, pure and 
simple. Republicans support smaller government but want continued 
warrantless searches of their constituents. President Obama campaigned 
on the promise of abandoning the PATRIOT Act, calling it a ``dangerous 
and shoddy'' law, yet has done nothing to make good on that pledge. 
Let's end this duplicity.
  The importance of empowering our intelligence agencies to help 
protect us does not supersede the importance of preserving our civil 
liberties. Until a balance is reached, I will continue to vote against 
the PATRIOT Act and its provisions and I encourage my colleagues to do 
the same.

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