Senate Adopts Patriot Act Reauthorization Without Necessary Reforms, ACLU Urges Congress to Better Protect Privacy and Freedoms of Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union expressed profound disappointment with today’s Senate vote to reauthorize the Patriot Act without including common sense reforms to bring that law in line with the Constitution by restoring checks and balances. The House is expected to adopt a bill next week to amend the Patriot Act reauthorization bill conference report it passed last December.

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

"The Senate today failed to take steps to fully protect the fundamental freedoms and privacy of all Americans. The Patriot Act contains too many intrusive powers that lack meaningful checks and balances. We applaud the efforts of those Senators who sought to include much needed reforms in the Patriot Act reauthorization bill and stood firm in their commitment to protect our freedoms. The Patriot Act debate is far from over: secret record searches must be reformed so they are focused on suspected foreign terrorists and not used to invade the private records of ordinary Americans. Congress can, and must, take steps to fix the Patriot Act to keep America both safe and free."

To read more about the ACLU’s concerns with the Patriot Act, go to:
http://www.reformthepatriotact.org