Title: Patriot Act | Freedom Forum Institute
Headings: Patriot Act
Patriot Act
Legal battles over Patriot Act revisions to FISA

Content: In March 2006, President George W. Bush credited the Patriot Act with helping “break up terror cells in Ohio, New York, Oregon and Virginia.” “ We’ve stopped 28 terrorist attacks since 9/11,” said James Carafano, a homeland security expert at the Heritage Foundation, four years later. “ The Patriot Act has been a big part of that.” Detractors counter that the Patriot Act represents a loss of individual liberty and a naked grasp for power by the executive branch of government, particularly over the judicial branch. Robert Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, has written that the Patriot Act represents “the looming sacrifice of civil liberties at the altar of national security.” Congress approved the Patriot Act by an overwhelming margin shortly after the infamous terrorist acts. The House voted 357-66 in favor of the measure, while the Senate voted 98-1 with only Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., dissenting. President Bush signed the behemoth bill into law on Oct. 26, 2001. The name of the act perhaps helped ensure its easy passage;