Most Democrats want to fix, not repeal the Patriot Act.

[ProSense]

Russ Feingold on the Senate floor, December 2005 (PDF)

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I also want to clear up one related misconception. I have never advocated repeal of any portion of the PATRIOT Act. In fact, as I have said repeatedly over the past 4 years, I supported most of the provisions of the bill. There are many good provisions in the bill. As my colleagues know, the PATRIOT Act did a lot more than expand our surveillance laws. Among other things, it set up a national network to prevent and detect electronic crimes such as the sabotage of the Nation’s financial sector, it established a counterterrorism fund to help Justice Department offices disabled in terrorist attacks to keep operating, and it changed the money laundering laws to make them more useful in disrupting the financing of terrorist organizations. One section of the PATRIOT Act even condemned discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans.

Even some of the act’s surveillance sections were not troubling. In fact, one provision authorized the FBI to expedite the hiring of translators. Another added terrorism and computer crimes to the list of crimes for which criminal wiretap orders could be sought. And some provisions helped to bring down what has been termed ‘‘the wall,’’ the wall that had been built between intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

This week we have heard a lot of people saying we must reauthorize the PATRIOT Act in order to ensure that this wall does not go back up. Let us make this clear. I supported and continue to support the information-sharing provisions of the PATRIOT Act. One of the key lessons we learned in the wake of September 11 was that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies were not sharing information with each other, even where the statutes permitted it. In the PATRIOT Act we tore down the remaining legal barriers.

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February 2009: Senators Introduce Patriot Act Fixes to Safeguard Americans' Rights

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have introduced legislation to fix problems with surveillance laws that threaten the rights and liberties of American citizens. The Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools In Counterterrorism Efforts (JUSTICE) Act would reform the USA PATRIOT Act, the FISA Amendments Act and other surveillance authorities to protect Americans' constitutional rights, while preserving the powers of our government to fight terrorism.

The JUSTICE Act reforms include more effective checks on government searches of Americans' personal records, the "sneak and peek" search provision of the PATRIOT Act, "John Doe" roving wiretaps and other overbroad authorities. The bill will also reform the FISA Amendments Act, passed last year, by repealing the retroactive immunity provision, preventing "bulk collection" of the contents of Americans' international communications, and prohibiting "reverse targeting" of innocent Americans. And the bill enables better oversight of the use of National Security Letters (NSLs) after the Department of Justice Inspector General issued reports detailing the misuse and abuse of the NSLs. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 23rd, on reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act.

"Every single member of Congress wants to give our law enforcement and intelligence officials the tools they need to keep Americans safe," said Feingold. "But with the PATRIOT Act up for reauthorization, we should take this opportunity to fix the flaws in our surveillance laws once and for all. The JUSTICE Act permits the government to conduct necessary surveillance, but within a framework of accountability and oversight. It ensures both that our government has the tools to keep us safe, and that the privacy and civil liberties of innocent Americans will be protected. When he was in the Senate, President Obama was a strong ally on these issues, and I look forward to working with his administration to find common ground on commonsense reforms."

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May 2011: Leahy To File Bipartisan Amendment To PATRIOT Act Extension Bill

WASHINGTON (Monday, May 23, 2011) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will file an amendment later today to legislation pending before the Senate that will extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act until June 1, 2015. The Leahy-authored amendment will be cosponsored by Kentucky Republican Rand Paul and others, and closely tracks legislation Leahy introduced earlier this year. That bill won approval by a bipartisan majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee in March.

The three expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act include roving wiretaps, the “lone wolf” measure, and section 215 orders for tangible things, commonly referred to as the “library records” provision. The authorities were originally set to expire in December 2009. Leahy first proposed legislation to reauthorize the intelligence-gathering tools in September 2009. The bill won bipartisan support in the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2009, and was backed by the Obama administration, the Attorney General, and the Director of National Intelligence.

In January, Leahy reintroduced the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act, which mirrored the legislation first proposed in 2009. That bill, too, received bipartisan support from members of the Judiciary Committee.

After a series of short-term extensions, the authorities are now set to expire on Friday, May 27. The Senate will vote tonight on a procedural motion to begin debate on legislation offered by the Senate majority and minority leaders to provide a straight extension of the authorities until June 1, 2015, more than five years after the original expiration date, and nine years after legislative improvements to the original USA PATRIOT Act were last enacted. The bill, however, makes no additional improvements to the law.

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