September 23, 2004 Letter to Senators Warner and Allen
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
September 23, 2004
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 oppose current efforts to add to the USA PATRIOT Act through the “Tools to Fight Terrorism Act of 2004” (S. 2679) or any other legislation. I am particularly concerned about the “Tools to Fight Terrorism” Act because it would increase the government’s powers to secretly obtain personal records without judicial review and limit judicial discretion over the use of secret evidence in criminal cases. I believe this is an unnecessary and dangerous expansion of government power.
As a USMC and Gulf War veteran, I find it quite infuriating that this Congress is so willing to emulate the tactics of nations we defeated during the Cold War. A police state is not a free state.
We need to curtail, not expand, the PATRIOT Act. Just 45 days after the September 11 attacks, with virtually no debate, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act, rather than risk being called “traitor” by their big government “we must trade liberty for security” counterparts. Many parts of this sweeping legislation take away checks on law enforcement and threaten the very rights and freedoms that we are struggling to protect. The 9/11 Commission report clearly recommends that the government explain how, if at all, existing powers have been used to increase security. Congress needs to revisit this legislation and bring it into line with the Constitution, not expand it with new powers.
The proposal will hurt America’s anti-terrorism efforts in its call to expand crimes eligible for the death penalty. Many nations that have abolished the death penalty are unwilling to extradite or provide evidence in federal terrorism cases if the suspect could be subjected to the death penalty as a result of their cooperation with the United States.
This proposed legislation builds on many of the most troubling provisions of the Patriot Act. To date, more than 352 American communities, encompassing nearly 54 million Americans nationwide have passed resolutions asking Congress to revisit the Patriot Act and oppose any further expansion of the law.
Once again, as someone who has served and understands the threats our nation faces, I urge you to oppose S. 2679. This proposed legislation is an unnecessary and dangerous expansion of government power. We don’t need to emulate the tactics of defunct totalitarian regimes to ensure our own safety.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.
Sincerely,
James Landrith