Robert Neeld
Democrat for Congress
The Issues
The Patriot Act was assembled in the aftermath
of 9/11 in an atmosphere that polluted the distinction between
our national security and our fundamental liberty. Like most Americans,
national security was paramount on my mind in those very troubling
days. Today, however, I am deeply concerned that the Act went
too far in its expanding the government's power on matters of
domestic surveillance.
On one hand, the so-called "roving wiretap" provision
within the Act is far-overblown. For years, investigators have
used wiretaps to track drug dealers and racketeers. So, extending
this provision to track terrorists and suspected terrorists corrects
an inadvertent gap in existing law.
But other parts of the Patriot Act are more disturbing - especially
the expansion of the government's authority to search through
private records and other personal data without notifying the
suspect.
Even worse, federal investigators no longer have to certify to
a court in advance that an individual is suspected of being a
spy or a terrorist. Government agents can simply assert that the
records that they seek are "relevant" to an ongoing
terrorism investigation.
Under the Patriot Act, an overzealous Attorney General, investigator
or prosecutor could compel the holders of personal data such as
medical records, bank accounts, library withdrawals, credit transaction,
Internet records and the like to turn over documents without the
targeted individual's knowledge that he or she is under investigation.
Furthermore, the Patriot Act makes it illegal for the record-keepers
to alert the targeted individual regarding the government's investigative
action.
In my estimation, this new-found governmental power goes too
far. Bottom line, it violates several fundamental principles embedded
within our Bill of Rights.
As the law is presently written, it also opens up the possibility
of government agents undertaking "fishing expeditions"
to prosecute individuals for low-level crimes that have nothing
at all to do with terrorism.
If you elect me to serve you in Congress, I will make sure that
these draconian transgressions are rectified and then placed in
proper perspective in the war against terrorism.
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