Title: Patriot Act - HISTORY
Headings: Patriot Act
Patriot Act
Contents
What Is the Patriot Act?
Details of the Patriot Act
Did the Patriot Act Prevent Terrorism?
Patriot Act and Privacy Debate
USA Freedom Act
Sources
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Content: allowing law enforcement to use surveillance and wiretapping to investigate terror-related crimes
allowing federal agents to request court permission to use roving wiretaps to track a specific terrorist suspect
allowing delayed notification search warrants to prevent a terrorist from learning they are a suspect
allowing federal agents to seek federal court permission to obtain bank records and business records to aid in national security terror investigations and prevent money laundering for terrorism financing
improving information and intelligence sharing between government agencies
providing tougher penalties for convicted terrorists and those who harbor them
allowing search warrants to be obtained in any district where terror-related activity occurs, no matter where the warrant is executed
ending the statute of limitations for certain terror-related crimes
making it harder for aliens involved in terrorist activities to enter the United States
providing aid to terrorism victims and public safety officers involved in investigating or preventing terrorism or responding to terrorist attacks
Many of the Patriot Act’s requirements were slated to expire in 2005. Whether to renew the act was passionately argued in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Despite continued civil liberties and privacy concerns, President Bush signed the USA Patriot and Terrorism Reauthorization Act on March 9, 2006. Did the Patriot Act Prevent Terrorism? Depending on whom you ask or what you read, the Patriot Act may or may not have prevented terrorism. According to a 2015 Washington Post article, the Justice Department admitted, “ FBI agents can’t point to any major terrorism cases they’ve cracked thanks to the key snooping powers in the Patriot Act.” But a 2012 report from the conservative Heritage Foundation states 50 terrorist attacks have been thwarted since 9/11, with 47 being the direct result of the work of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They claim the Patriot Act is essential to helping law enforcement identify leads and prevent attacks. In 2004 testimony before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, FBI Director Robert Mueller said, “the Patriot Act has proved extraordinarily beneficial in the war on terrorism and has changed the way the FBI does business. Many of our counterterrorism successes, in fact, are the direct results of provisions included in the Act…”
He also stated that without the provisions in the act, “the FBI could be forced back into pre-September 11 practices, attempting to fight the war on terrorism with one hand tied behind our backs.”