Earlier this year, the Republican leadership in Congress violated its own rules to ensure a slim defeat for a measure that would have protected your privacy in bookstores and libraries.
The measure -- an amendment offered by Rep. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) -- would have forbidden the government from funding the use of powers granted by the infamous Section 215 of the Patriot Act to demand your personal records from bookstores and libraries. These new powers give law enforcement the ability to obtain -- without an ordinary criminal subpoena, search warrant, or probable cause - a secret court order allowing access to all of your personal records -- including your library records, the books you purchased, your medical records, your finances and even the complete history of your web surfing. The Sanders Amendment would have been an important first step at rolling back part of these overreaching surveillance powers.
Although the measure initially garnered a majority with almost all Democrats and 29 Republicans voting ""yea,"" Republican leaders kept open the vote for more than 30 minutes -- twice the allotted time -- so they could persuade 11 members to switch their votes. The amendment then failed on a vote of 210 to 210.
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The PATRIOT Act is an attack on fundamental American values. It must be fixed.
The Constitution and its Bill of Rights emphasizes checks and balances on government agents and limits to their power. The PATRIOT Act rolled back key judicial oversight and gives law enforcement significant new powers that go beyond the war on terrorism. The adoption of the bipartisan Sanders Amendment is an important step towards bringing the PATRIOT Act in line with core American values.
The amendment was part of the groundswell against the USA Patriot Act.
Resolutions against the Patriot Act have passed in more than 330 communities across the country. These communities cover millions of people concerned about the USA Patriot Act and its impacts on civil liberties. Responding to one section of the Patriot Act, many librarians across the country decided to put up signs warning patrons that the FBI may be snooping in their records.
This amendment originally had majority support, but was defeated only because of the strong-arm tactics of the Republican leadership. In fact, President Bush indicated he would veto the entire budget of the Department of Justice rather than let this bill pass. Congress must take more aggressive steps to correct the problems of the PATRIOT Act and bring it in line with our Constitution.
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