Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on PATRIOT Act - December 2, 2003 Vol.4, No.24

December 2, 2003 Vol.4, No.24:

Published: 12/02/2003

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Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on PATRIOT Act

On Nov. 18 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing, "America after 9/11: Freedom Preserved or Freedom Lost?” that focused on the PATRIOT Act and other post 9/11 policy impacts on civil liberties.

Testimonies, which came from people on opposite ends of the political spectrum, spoke in opposition to provisions of the act. The American Civil Liberties Union along with former Rep. Bob Barr, who voted in favor of the act while a member of Congress, criticized the act. Barr told the Committee, "Little did I, or many of my colleagues, know the act would shortly be used in contexts other than terrorism, and in conjunction with a wide array of other, privacy-invasive programs and activities."

One of the major problems cited is Section 215, which allows the FBI access to personal records of individuals without showing probable cause or a connection with terrorism. Recently the Justice Department announced that it has not used Section 215, but James Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology told the committee that the lack of use shows the provision is unnecessary and should be repealed.