FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Senate
for rejecting a cloture motion to limit debate on legislation to reauthorize the
Patriot Act that failed to make substantive changes to that law. The vote came
despite increasing pressure from the White House and its allies to adopt the
flawed bill. The failure to invoke cloture means efforts to fix the Patriot Act
can continue.
"Today, fair-minded Senators stood firm in their commitment to the
Constitution and rejected the White House’s call to pass a faulty law," said
Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "The
Senate was our last, best hope to preserve our fundamental freedoms, and it did
not fail. The Senators who voted to continue debate saw through the empty
rhetoric and dismissed the notion that this damaged bill was in the best
interests of the country. This was a victory for the privacy and liberty of all
Americans."
The ACLU noted that Senators from both parties vowed to continue to press for
reforms and stood up for the protection of the fundamental freedoms of all
Americans. 47 Senators voted against cloture, and both Democrats and Republicans
spoke passionately about the need to protect ordinary Americans from government
misuse of these broad powers governed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act (FISA). Many pointed to evidence that the secret records search powers
expanded by the Patriot Act are being used with increasing frequency to gather
the financial and Internet transaction records of innocent Americans.
The motion for cloture failed only hours after the New York Times revealed
that the White House had directed the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on
people in the United States in violation of the FISA law. Congress passed the
FISA rules in response to revelations during the Nixon administration of NSA
spying on Americans on these shores in contravention of Fourth Amendment rights.
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), who was the lone Senator to oppose the Patriot
Act in 2001, and John Sununu (R-NH) led the Senate’s opposition. Others
instrumental in the vote against the cloture motion were Senators Patrick Leahy
(D-VT), Harry Reid (D-NV), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Larry Craig (R-ID), Dick Durbin
(D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK),
Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Max Baucus (D-MT), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Carl Levin
(D-MI).
Had opponents of Patriot reform succeeded, their version of the bill would
have allowed the government to continue seizing law-abiding Americans' most
sensitive personal records without requiring a link between the records sought
and a suspected foreign terrorist. It would also have left in place the
automatic gag order that makes it difficult to challenge the government's secret
record demands. The ACLU and its bipartisan allies, along with 400 communities,
including seven states, continue to call for meaningful changes to be made. Also
contained in the legislation is a proposal to revisit two Patriot Act powers in
2009. The ACLU urged lawmakers to renew negotiations to ensure that precious
anti-terrorism resources are not wasted on innocent Americans unconnected to a
suspected terrorist.
"The White House used every means to protect easy access by the FBI to the
private information of innocent Americans unconnected to suspected foreign
terrorists," said Lisa Graves, ACLU Senior Counsel for Legislative Strategy.
"Today’s vote is a beacon of hope for the continuing vitality of our Bill of
Rights. As Congress continues its examination of the Patriot Act, it must add
common sense protections to preserve our privacy. Americans from across the
political spectrum insist that this law be reformed so America will both be safe
and free."
For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the Patriot Act, go
to:
http://www.reformthepatriotact.org
