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Letter Urging Members of Congress to Vote Against the Conference Report on the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005

Dear Members of Congress:

We are writing to urge you to vote against adoption of the Conference Report on H.R. 3199, the Patriot Act reauthorization bill.  The bill fails to correct the flaws in the Patriot Act that threaten the privacy and civil liberties of all Americans.

The bill's changes to section 215 of the Patriot Act--the so called library provision--provide no meaningful new protection.  The government retains the power to engage in essentially unlimited fishing expeditions for records of innocent persons.  The bill also does nothing to restrain the government's massive use of national security letters.  In fact , the changes on national security letters affirmatively harm civil liberties by imposing unconstitutional criminal penalties for disclosure of receipt of a national security letter.

We agree with Senators Craig, Durbin, Feingold, Murkowski, Salazar and Sununu--three Republicans and three Democrats--that the Patriot Act reauthorization bill should embody the Senate's approach in requiring a connection between the records sought and a suspected terrorist or spy.  Anything less unacceptably compromises the liberties and privacy of the American people.

Signatories:

American Booksellers Association

American Civil Liberties Union

American Conservative Union

American Library Association

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

Association of American Publishers

Association of Research Libraries

Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Center  for American Progress

Center for Democracy and Technology

Center for National Security Studies

The Citizen for Social Responsibility

Consumer Action

Doctors for Disaster Preparedness

Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Federation of American Scientists

Fairfax County Privacy Council

First Amendment Foundation

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Government Accountability Project

Gun Owners of America

Human Rights Watch

Liberty Coalition

The Multiracial Activist

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

National Association of Muslim Lawyers

National Committee Against Repressive Legislation

National Lawyer's Guild--National Office

OMB Watch

OpenTheGovernment.org

People for the American Way

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

Privacy Times

The Rutherford Institute

Square One Media Network

Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

NOTE: On Wednesday December 21, 2005 the Senate agreed to extend the debated provisions of the Patriot Act for 6 months.  The House, on December 22nd, postponed expiration of the Act until February 3rd 2006.

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