Does the Patriot Act go too far? A response to the September 11 attacks, the Patriot Act is intended to help the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.

YES

The Patriot Act gives the government too much power to get information on law abiding Americans. Our number-one priority should be protecting Americans from terrorism, but we must also preserve the rights that define our nation. The Patriot Act goes too far because it undermines the liberties for which so many Americans have fought and died.

Under the Patriot Act, the federal government can get information about your health, finances, magazine subscriptions, or membership in charitable or religious organizations. As long as the government says that the information is sought for an international terrorism or counterintelligence investigation, courts must allow access to this highly personal information.

Under the "sneak and peek" provision of the law, federal agents conducting a criminal investigation can come into your home when you're not there and look around without telling you. They do not even have to show you the warrant that Mowed the search until much later. This undermines the protection in the Constitution's Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In our fight against terrorism, we must protect both the American people and the freedoms that define our society. The Patriot Act fails to strike that balance, and it should be changed. The Safe Act, a bill I support, would amend some of the most troubling provisions of the Patriot Act. The Safe Act protects the liberty and privacy of law-abiding Americans, while still allowing law enforcement to do the critically important work of fighting terrorism.

Senator Russell Feingold

Democrat of Wisconsin

NO

Since the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Justice has worked tirelessly to protect the American people against future terrorist attacks. With the enactment of the Patriot Act, we have been able to make steady progress.

Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Patriot Act has equipped law enforcement with critical tools--tools necessary to construct America's defense against threats to the freedoms we hold dear.

The Patriot Act does three things: First, it closes the gaping holes in our ability to investigate terrorists. Second, it updates our antiterrorism laws to meet the challenges of new technology, and new threats. Third, it allows different agencies--at the federal, state, and local level---to share information and work together to fight terrorism as a team. In short, the Patriot Act has equipped law enforcement with critical investigative tools that arc helping us win the war on terror.

The Patriot Act applies to terrorism investigations many of the legal tools that have been used for decades to fight illegal drug traffickers, mobsters, and other criminals. To protect civil liberties, the Patriot Act makes use of our system of checks and balances: Federal judges must still approve and issue orders for searches, surveillance, and even requests for business records. We also make detailed reports to Congress. So far, neither Congress nor the courts have found a single instance of abuse under the Patriot Act.

In the war on terrorism, the preservation of the lives and liberties of Americans is the Department of Justice's greatest responsibility.

John Ashcroft 

U.S. Attorney General