Letter from Senator Kyl opposing the resolution

May 2, 2003

Tucson Mayor and City Council
255 West Alameda Street
Tucson, Arizona 85701

Dear Mayor and Council Members:

In light of the Tucson City Council's decision to consider a measure expressing concerns about the USA PATRIOT Act, I would like to take this opportunity to clarify misinformation about the Act and point out the integral role the Act has played in the war against terrorism.

Americans remain vulnerable to terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security has currently placed the Terrorist Threat Level at Yellow, or Elevated, which means there is a ""significant risk of terrorist attacks.""

In the wake of September 11 attacks, Congress acted in a bipartisan matter to give law-enforcement personnel the tools they need to combat terrorism, in the form of the USA Patriot Act. Just as we would not send our military men and women into battle without the best equipment, we could not ask our intelligence and law enforcement personnel to perform their missions with inadequate or outdated capabilities. After intensive deliberations, the Senate and House passed the USA Patriot Act by overwhelming majorities of 98 to 1 and 357 to 66, respectively, and the bill was signed into law by President Bush in the fall of 2001.

The Patriot Act gives federal agencies fighting terrorism the same tools we have given those fighting illicit drugs or even postal fraud. Many of the provisions are modernizations of the criminal law necessitated by the new technology that terrorists use. For instance, prior to the Patriot Act, existing law allowed the government to seek court orders to monitor only land telephone lines, but not cell phones, which are more attractive to terrorists. The Patriot Act also updates the law to include Internet communication such as email. Without the Patriot Act, law enforcement would be forced to use out-of-date measures to catch terrorists using the latest technology.

Since its implementation in the fall of 2001, the USA Patriot Act has served as an effective tool in the war against terror without taking away the civil liberties of law-abiding cities. In fact, according to the U.S. Justice Department, no portion of the Patriot Act has ever been challenged in court.

To date, just 83 cities and towns out of over 19,000 have adopted resolutions expressing doubts about the USA Patriot Act. This represents less than one half of one percent of all incorporated municipalities in the United States. AT the time the Act was passed, the Senate was evenly divided. The Patriot Act was thoroughly debated, yet as I noted above, only one Senator opposed this bill. It seems odd that the City Council without the advantage of any such debate would take action against a bill which passed the Senate with such overwhelming bipartisan support. I strongly urge the City Council to consider the merits of the USA PATRIOT Act and the essential tools it provides law enforcement before joining this miniscule minority.

Sincerely,

JON KYL
United States Senator