Key Controversies
by Larry Abramson and Maria Godoy
Dec. Senate supporters of the law failed to get enough votes to overcome a threatened filibuster. The final vote was 52 47.
Passed in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Patriot Act was designed to enhance federal anti terrorism investigations. Sixteen surveillance provisions are set to expire on Dec. 31. But opponents in the Senate said those changes fail to adequately address the civil liberties concerns which those provisions raise.
Below, NPR examines the act's most controversial provisions as they are currently written:
The 'Lone Wolf' Provision
Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 allows intelligence investigations of lone terrorists not connected to a foreign nation or organization.
While not part of the Patriot Act, this provision also sunsets on Dec. 31 and is under review. Civil liberties groups say the provision could sweep in protesters and those suspected of involvement in domestic terrorism. Language passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee would make this section permanent.
Sections 203(b) and 203(d) of the Patriot Act are at the heart of the effort to break down the "wall" that used to separate criminal and intelligence investigations. The Justice Department has frequently blamed the wall for the failure to find and detain Sept. 11 hijackers Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Midhar prior to the attacks. CIA agents had information that both men were in the United States and were suspected terrorists, but the FBI says it did not receive that information until August 2001. officials also blame the wall for the failure to fully investigate Zacarias Moussaoui, who has since pleaded guilty in connection with the Sept. 11 plot. The government says that existing procedures made investigators afraid of sharing information between the intelligence and criminal sides of the probe. Supporters say these provisions have greatly enhanced information sharing within the FBI, and with the intelligence community at large.
Civil libertarians say the failure to share information was largely a result of incompetence and misunderstanding
of the law. They warn that the scope of the Patriot Act language is far too broad and encourages
unlimited sharing of information, regardless of the need.
Critics say that investigators should have to explain why information is being shared, and that only information
related to terrorism or espionage cheap jerseys should be released. They warn that unrestricted sharing could lead to the
development of massive databases about innocent citizens.
This provision of the Patriot Act specifically allows "roving wiretaps" against suspected spies and terrorists. Civil liberties groups say the language
of the Patriot Act could lead to privacy violations of anyone who comes into casual contact with the suspect.
They want Congress wholesale nfl jerseys to require investigators to specify just which device is going to be tapped, or that the suspect
be clearly identified, in order to protect the innocent from unwarranted snooping.
Probably the most hotly debated provision of the law, Section 215 has come to be known as the "libraries provision,"
even though it never mentions libraries or bookstores. Civil liberties groups attack the breadth of Cheap Jerseys for sale this section
which allows investigators to obtain "any tangible thing (including books, records, papers, documents and other