PATRIOT Act
The United States of America's PATRIOT Act (formally the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Interpret and Obstruct Terrorism Act) was a hurriedly created legislation against terrorism reacting to the terror attack on September 11, 2001. Little debate and oversight was given to the large, complex law by the Congress and President George W. Bush signed it into law on October 26, 2001. PATRIOT offers sweeping surveillance, and search to both domestic officers and foreign intelligence agencies and removes many checks and balances that initially gave the courts the chance to make sure that the powers were never abused. The developing PATRIOT and follow-up legislation (Gouvin, 2003) threaten the basic rights of most Americans.
The Origin
The United States of America PATRIOT Act, also known as USAPA brought in several legislative amendments that had a significant increase on the investigative and surveillance powers of the U.S. law enforcement agents. However, the law did not make provisions for the checks and balances system that provide the traditional protection to civil liberties when such legislation is enacted.
Legislative suggestions following the September 11 attacks in 2001 were enacted within a week following the attacks. President Bush signed the final bill, the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act into law on October 26, 2001(Michaels, 2005). Though more than 15 relevant laws were amended by the Act, its introduction was quite hasty and its passage witnessed very little debates, and there was a total lack of any report from the Senate, House, or any conference. Following this, background legislative history was missing which mostly provides important retrospective legal interpretation.
The Act represents a compromise edition of the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), an extensive legislative plan aimed at strengthening the defense of the country against terrorism (Michaels, 2005). Several provisions were added to ATA that largely expanded the power of law enforcement and other intelligence outfits to check private communications and gain access to personal details. The resultant legislation involved some relevant additions from the initial proposal of the administration: most apparently, the supposed provision (which provides that many sections of the act expire automatically after a certain period, except when congress renews them explicitly); on some provisions on electronic surveillance, and an amendment that provides judicial omission, the use of the FBI's Carnivore system by the law enforcement.
When the Bush administration introduced the legislative proposals following the September 11, 2001 attacks, John Ashcroft, the then attorney General Mandated Congress to pass the bill within one week -- without making any amendments. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, partly succeeded in convincing the Department of Justice to consent to certain amendments, and members of the house started making very important improvements (Gouvin, 2003). Nevertheless, the Attorney General gave a warning that more terrorist' attacks were imminent, and that any failure on the part of the Congress to ensure the bill is passed without delays will make members of the Congress answerable to any further attacks.
Widespread and rushed deliberations in the Senate gave rise to a bipartisan bill, devoid of most of the concessions Senator Leahy had earlier won. The majority Senate leader, Senator Thomas Daschle, sought general consent to pass the bill without amendment or debate; The only member who objected was Senator Russ Feingold. Minor amendments were carried out in the House, which oversaw the passage of the bill 357-66. There was a quick reconciliation between the House and the Senate, and on October 26, 2001, the bill was signed into law (Gouvin, 2003).
Implementation of the Act
The PATRIOT Act permits the investigators to utilize the already available tools to carry out investigation on drug trafficking and organized crime. Most of the tools provided by the Act to the law enforcement agents to combat the terrorism menace have been utilized for several decades to combat organized crimes and drug traffickers, and the judiciary has given it a review and subsequent approval. According to Senator Joe Bidden (D-DE), at the time of the floor debate on the Act, the FBI could investigate the mafia by getting a wiretap, but it will not be easy to get a wiretap to carry out investigations on the terrorists. Bluntly put, that was quite insane! What is termed good for the mafia should also be good for the ruthless terrorists (Wong, 2007).
The PATRIOT Act empowers law enforcement agents to make use of surveillance to fight more terror-related crimes. Prior to the PATRIOT Act, law enforcement agents would need the permission of the...
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