Sunday, July 24, 2005

Fat Lady Hasn't Sung Yet

On Friday I posted on the "Dying Bill of Rights" and I hope I didn't leave the impression that there was nothing left to do about the Reauthorization. I did not mean to imply this. Shakespeare's Sister has an excellent summary of the status of the process as of Friday posted by Thom Haslam @ Societas

Let's set the record straight if we can.
First of all the Patriot Act has NOT been reathorized and there are still ways to make an impact on the outcome. There are currently two bills before Congress, one in each house:
H.R. 3199: USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005: passed 257/171 on June 21 2005 and

S. 1389: A bill to reauthorize and improve the USA PATRIOT Act: passed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary committee but still pending a full Senate vote

Both of these bills are different and therefore must be reconciled in conference. This means that there is still time for you to act.

Opportunity One: The Senate Bill Contact your Senators
and express your concerns about the Patriot Act. Ask them to ensure
that the 4th and 1st Amendments are not compromised. Ask them to
endorse and strengthen the efforts by the Senate Judiciary committee to
better protect civil liberties.

Opportunity Two: House-Senate reconciliation process
After s. 1389 is passed by the full Senate and goes to the House-Senate conference committee, contact your Congressional representative.
Please firmly but respectfully inform him or her that you prefer a
final bill that does a better job restoring checks and balances,
ensuring meaningful judicial and Congressional oversight, and
protecting civil liberties.


Lastly, Go and read the whole post at Shakespeare's Sister it has a bunch of links that will give you the whole scoop on the Patriot Act and what it means.

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