Because I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU…

… I am compelled to pass this on.

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Days before the second anniversary of the signing of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of a series of hearings to examine federal anti-terrorism laws. The ACLU is calling upon Congress to ensure that the powers granted to law enforcement are being used properly and to examine their necessity.

There has been growing momentum on Capitol Hill to restore the civil liberties lost through legislation post 9/11. Currently, there are several bi-partisan measures pending in both chambers of Congress that seek to rollback parts of the controversial USA PATRIOT Act.

A new bill recently introduced by Senators Larry Craig (R-ID) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) is a major step forward in the fight to restore checks on federal domestic spying powers. The bill — known as the SAFE Act of 2003 — would narrow several controversial sections of the USA PATRIOT Act and is garnering bipartisan support.

This bill would permanently narrow the “sneak and peek” provision in the Patriot Act, which allows federal agents to search Americans’ homes without notifying them for an indeterminate period.

It also addresses Section 215 of the bill, which allows the FBI to obtain Americans’ medical, business, library and even genetic records without probable cause. Specifically, it would require government investigators to show that the individual under suspicion has some connection to a foreign government or organization.

This bill is being introduced at a time when nearly 200 communities have passed pro-civil liberties, anti-PATRIOT Act resolutions and several months after Representative C.L. Otter (R-ID) saw his amendment defunding sneak and peek searches in the PATRIOT Act pass by an overwhelming majority in the House.

“This isn’t an abstract, academic debate — it’s about how our Constitution and Bill of Rights provide ground rules for every American to enjoy freedom and safety in equal measure,” said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office

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