September 23, 2003 Letter to Senators Warner and Allen
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
September 23, 2003
The Honorable John William Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4601
The Honorable George F. Allen
United States Senate
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4604
Dear Senators Warner and Allen:
As your constituent, I urge you to support fixes to the PATRIOT Act and other government actions that threaten civil liberties.
I have read that the government can now collect information about the books I read, my purchases and my personal finances. With only the most minimal judicial review, government agents can now obtain many types of my personal records — educational, medical, financial, sales, library and others — even if they have no probable cause of a crime.
I believe that a hallmark of American democracy has long been that our individual privacy is protected against government intervention and snooping as long as we are not guilty of wrongdoing. “Black bag” searches – now allowed thanks to the PATRIOT Act – should not be permitted to continue.
I strongly urge you to support any effort to help ameliorate many of the most controversial provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, such as the use of “sneak and peek” warrants and secret searches of library records, as part of the annual appropriations process. A significant PATRIOT Act fix has already passed in the House – it is now the Senate’s turn to take action.
Once again, I urge you to support fixes to the PATRIOT Act that threaten civil liberties.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Sincerely,
James Landrith
October 2, 2003
Mr. James Landrith
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208
Dear Mr. Landrith:
Thank you for contacting me to share your views about legislation to combat terrorism. I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.
To further ensure national security, President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft, and members of Congress have worked in a bipartisan fashion to produce legislation to help law enforcement prevent additional acts of terrorism and to help law enforcement bring terrorists to justice.
In my view, any legislation that provides law enforcement with additional tools to combat terrorism must be balanced. On the one hand, changes in the law must be real and more than simply illusory. A measured, targeted enhancement in law enforcement’s authority to combat terrorism is long overdue. The fact is that many of our criminal laws were enacted years before innovations of modern technology such as email, cell phones, and instant messaging. These laws must be updated.
On the other hand, any changes in the law must not infringe upon the rights guaranteed is Constitution. This great document has served as the foundation of this country, and our democracy, for over 200 years. Therefore, it is imperative that any legislation passed to combat domestic terrorism does not trespass on the individual rights guaranteed in our Constitution – rights that make America the greatest nation in the world.
In an effort to enhance law enforcement’s ability to combat domestic terrorism, the Senate passed H.R.3162, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), by a vote of 98 to 1, with my support. President Bush signed this bill into law on October 26, 2001. Some key provisions of this legislation include: updated electronic surveillance ability for law enforcement; increased border security on the northern border; money laundering measures to help break up terrorist financial networks, enhanced information sharing; increased criminal penalties for terrorism; allowing the Attorney General to detain suspected alien terrorists without a formal charge for up to seven days, and requiring the Attorney General to report to Congress on the feasibility of enhancing the integrated automated fingerprint identification system.
In my view, the USA PATRIOT Act strikes the right balance by providing law enforcement with new and updated tools to fight terrorism while fitting these measures well within the bounds of the Constitution.
Recently, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has introduced $.1552, the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act, which proposes serval reforms to the USA PATRIOT Act. Some of these reforms include similar provisions introduced under S.1158 and S.1507. These bills would exempt libraries and bookstores from Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which allows federal authorities in a foreign intelligence or international terrorism investigation to obtain a Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FIŞA) court order for access to any tangible item no matter who holds it. Other reforms include changes to Section 213 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which allows courts to delay notification of a search warrant when immediate notification may result in death or physical harm to an individual, flight from prosecution, evidence tarnpering, or witness intimidation. This bill would limit the scope of Section 213 and require special findings to show that providing an immediate notice of the search warrant would endanger a person’s life or result in flight of prosecution or the destruction of evidence.
In addition, while hearings have been held to discuss whether additional law enforcement tools are necessary in the prosecution of terrorism or potential terrorist activities, the full Senate has not yet reviewed such legislation. Please be assured that I am actively involved in all legislative efforts relating to terrorism and will continue to work to ensure that any legislation on this important matter is fair and within the confines established by the U.S. Constitution. I very much appreciate your views and will be sure to keep them in mind as the Senate continues to examine terrorism-related legislation and the USA PATRIOT Act.
Again, thank you for contacting my office on this important matter.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/jsf