The Passage And Impact Of USA Patriot Act - Free Essay Example

A Paper by Tyler Clay Mr. Hoban: 4th Period I chose to write about the USA PATRIOT Act because it was passed within my lifetime. Its purpose and the actions used because of it will greatly affect me in my lifetime and I wanted to know how it could affect me and what the Act actually contained. I had heard about the Act constanly on the news and knew that it was controversial. I wanted to hear both sides of the story, and in writing this paper, I did. Tyler Clay Mr. Hoban Honors U.S. History 14 Dec. 2010 The Passage and Impact of the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act The PATRIOT ACT is a United States bill that was turned into law to help defend the country from terrorist attacks. It also contains measures to help investigate terrorist activities towards or within the country. After its passage on October 26, 2001, the PATRIOT Act has dramatically changed how the United States approaches and monitors terrorism. In doing this, though, the Act has also aroused critics and controversy over its constitutionality. Thi s bill has a particular name given to it that exemplifies the attitudes the United States had when the bill was passed. This bill was called the PATRIOT Act, and it was thus called because during its time of passage, there was widespread patriotism throughout the country because of a series of attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. On this day, nineteen terrorists hijacked two planes which were flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, New York. Sometime after the initial attacks, the two towers collapsed and the entire city was scarred with the rubble and the emotional damage caused by the trauma. Sometime after, another plane was taken over and flown into the Pentagon, the United States State Departments headquarters. The crash caused a fire and many people died in the attack, including the passengers of the plane. But Americas traumatic experience was still not over: a final plane crash was caused by even more hijackers of yet another flight which either was going to be flown into the White House or the Capitol building. Fortunately for those in Washington, the passengers of this flight took it upon themselves to fight back against the terrorists and stopped the plane from reaching its target. Instead, it crashed somewhere in the Pennsylvania countryside. After these devastating attacks on the country, the citizens of the United States began to feel mourn those they lost. In doing this, the country began to come together as one, and feelings of patriotism began to fill the hearts of the country. Americans began to want to fight back against those that had hurt them. Patriotic songs filled the airwaves and the country stood united against its new enemy: terrorism. To combat terrorism, the USA PATRIOT ACT was composed. In this bill, a plan to help bring an end to terrorist activities is outlined and separated into Titles, each of which has a different purpose. Title I outlines procedures to strengthen security within the Un ited States. It does this by establishing a counter-terrorism fund and strengthening the Federal Bureau of Investigations technical fund. Title II, the most controversial section, is a section devoted entirely to surveillance of terrorist activities. This section broadens the governments range of what it can and cannot listen into. It allows wiretapping, or listening into, phone conversations suspected to be terrorist involved, and the sharing of information through phone service providers. The next Title contains articles to stop money laundering, which as the bill states is moving money around to help fund criminal activities. Money laundering can be used by terrorists to help fund their initiatives and plots and congress wanted to put a stop to this before it could affect Americans. Title IV tightens border security in the United States. This includes checkpoints along the northern and southern borders of the United States and increased protection and security at airports and oth er international imports. Title V involves something called a National Security Letter. These are somewhat of a warrant that the Federal Bureau of Investigation uses to gather information from organizations suspected of crime. This Title strengthens these National Security Letters greatly so that they can be more useful to fight terrorism. Unfortunately for the bill, though, these extensions on the National Security Letters caused quite a bit of controversy. Title Six has little to do with combating terrorism, and more to do with repaying the families of those who either perished in the rescue attempts made in the attacks on the United States, or who actually perished in the attacks. A fund was created under this Title to pay thanks to those who were hurt or died in the attacks. Title Eight changed the criminal laws of terrorism. It did this by creating measures against those who aid terrorists, broadening the definition of terrorism, and including cyber terrorism measures. Over fifty-million was spent on new computer crime labs to help track cyber threats and cyber terrorism such as government hacking and other dangerous threats. This is the Title that actually cracks down on the criminals of the future to make sure that they are dealt with in congruence to their acts. Title IX expands upon international intelligence, especially within the Central Intelligence Agency. Many intelligence centers were set up, such as translation centers, specializing in information translation. The final Title, number Ten, includes everything that did not fit into the other Title, such as new definitions of terms like electronic terrorism and electronic surveillance. The USA PATRIOT Act is actually the combinations of many different Nine-Eleven reaction legislations, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 and the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act, which included the money laundering deterrent actions that are found in the PATRIOT Act. The original PATRIOT Act or Provide Appropr iate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act was first introduced to Congress on October 2, 2001. During its time in the House of Representatives, it went under minor tweaks and after passage was known as the Uniting and Strengthening America, or USA, Act. After the passage in the House, the bill went under more revisions by House members and was reintroduced as the USA PATRIOT Act. This bill incorporated the already passed PATRIOT Act and incorporated the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act. This Act was presented to the House and passed, and Americans began to really take interest in the contents of the bill. The first prominent government figure to openly scrutinize the bill was Russ Feingold, a Senator who was the only person to oppose the passage of the bill in Congress. His concerns included the hurried passage of the bill, wiretapping, and the change of the way immigrants would be dealt with. Russ Feingold was not the only person to take on the USA PATRIOT Act, tho ugh. The media took quite an interest into bashing the new legislation. Movies, television, and news incorporated the act into their scripts. Michael Moore uses it in his movie Fahrenheit 9/11, Law and Order has used it many times in its plots, often with negative portrayals of the Act. Americans must have begun to see these interpretations of the law, and began to show it in polls, such as the Gallup News poll which stated that by 2003, public support was decreasing and that twenty-five percent of the public thought that the bill went too far and was beginning to invade their privacy. Americans were beginning to get worried that the balance between national security and their rights as citizens was beginning to tip in the wrong direction. No citizen wanted their rights and privacy trampled upon. The EPIC, or Electronic Privacy Information Center, which upholds and does its best to protect the rights of Americans on the Internet, using phones, and other forms of communication, op posed the bill and even went as far as to call it unconstitutional. But one other organization, with quite a bit of civil rights protection history under its belt also took on this bill. The American Civil Liberties Union, majorly known as the ACLU, is definitely the largest and most outspoken protestor of the USA PATRIOT Act. The Union began its campaign against the bill immediately after it was introduced to Congress. After its passage, though, it began to support legislation that would limit the bills power, and even repeal it. The bills that the ACLU supported included the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act, which attempted to limit the privacy and process changing sections of the PATRIOT Act. Another bill supported by the Liberties Union was the Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act. This Act would give the PATRIOT Act a test period of ninety days. After that, its effects would have been reviewed and it would be represented to Congress for extension or repeal. Neither the Protecting Rights bill nor the Benjamin Franklin Act passed, and the American Civil Liberties Union had to find a new way to challenge the PATRIOT Act. The National Security Letters in the fifth section of the bill was a major cause of concern to the ACLU. To combat it, the Union found a client to represent, who remained anonymous, and took the case to the courts. Though the case was of national interest and could change the way the country was protected, much of the case was kept confidential. This is because the case involved information obtained in the search of an internet provider, the client, who was searched with authorization given through National Security Letters. The American Civil Liberties Union used the First and the Fourth Amendments as their prosecuting evidence. They stated that without proper legal procedure to defend themselves from investigation. The Supreme Court found that this portion of the Act was unconstitutional, but only if the NSLs were used for n on-terrorist investigations. Though the bill was constantly being opposed, some law makers found that the Act did not go far enough. After three years without any new anti-terrorism laws, a new law was introduced to congress. It was called the Tools to Fight Terrorism Act. This legislation was introduced despite the growing unpopularity of the PATRIOT Act. The Tools Act would give the Federal Bureau of Investigation even more power and surveillance opportunities. The Senate found that this bill was too much, especially since it was already on thin ice about the PATIOT Act, and subsequently congress denied to take the Tools to Fight Terrorism Act any further. Despite constant criticism by the public, the media, and the government, the PATRIOT Act is still in effect, today. This is because it has been constantly reinstated by congress. In 2004, the bill was coming upon its expiration. President Bush pushed for the Act to be reinstated in his State of the Union Address and many othe r speeches he gave to the public. Though people were disliking the bill, they recognized that they still understood that they needed to sacrifice some of their personal privacy to protect the nations physical and economic security. The new Attorney General also saw this, and pushed for the PATRIOT Act to be reauthorized, with a few changes. Congress took the bill in and created a reinstatement bill, called the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005. This bill was taken into the Senate, where a few amendments were made, and the Reauthorization Act was passed. It then headed to the House of Representatives. The House did not agree with many of the Amendments included in the Senates version of the bill. This created a continuous tug of war between the House and the Senate. Finally, after many prominent Republican sent letters to the Senate, the bill was passed again in the Senate by a very heavy majority. The House passed the bill later on, and on March 8, 200 6, the President of the United States, George W. Bush, signed the USA PATIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 back into law. The Act continues to be vital in our countrys process of monitoring and defending against terrorism. Without it, who knows what sort of security situation our country would be in today? The USA PATRIOT Act was a very prominent piece of legislation in our countrys recent history. It changed how our country approached and combated terrorism since its original passage in 2001 and continues to be used to this day to protect our nation. But, in doing this, it has created controversy over its constitutionality. Ultimately, though, this bill has helped our nation progress against its new enemy: domestic terrorism. Hopefully, this act will continue to prove itself in the future.