Patriotic Act

Introduction

On October 26, 2001, President Bush signed into law H.R. 3162, the USA Patriot Act, which contains strong measures to prevent, detect and prosecute terrorism and international money laundering. The Act is far-reaching in a scope, covering a broad range of financial activities and institutions. (Van Bergen, 107) The attached summary highlights certain aspects of the new Act applicable to thrift operations. There are a few basic things that the Patriot Act tries to do. The Patriot Act creates new crimes for terrorist, like bulk cash smuggling and attacking mass transportation systems. Secondly, it expands prohibitions involving biological weapons of biological agents and toxins. It also lifts the statue of limitations on prosecuting some terrorism crimes, and it increases penalties on serious terrorism crimes. The Patriot Act requires a background check on any person trying to get a license for transporting hazardous materials. It expands money laundering laws, and places more procedural requirements on banks. It promotes information sharing and coordination of intelligence efforts. The Patriot Act provides federal grants for terrorism prevention, antiterrorism training, preparation and response to terrorist acts, and criminal history information systems. It broadens the grounds for denying aliens admission to the U.S. based on their involvement with terrorism; and alters some domestic security provisions, such as allowing the attorney general to ask for the military's assistance during an emergency involving weapons of mass destruction and allowing the Department of Defense to contract with state or local governments for temporary security at military facilities.

Pros

The act provides the US government the right to view our current and previous personal records in order to create a safer situation for people. The patriot act also extends the use of roving wiretaps, which help in international terrorism investigations. (Van Bergen, 107)

However, before a law official may use one, he must receive consent from a judge. Without the use of the roving wiretaps, terrorists would be able to escape the law much easier by simply purchasing a new cell phone. In order to create this safe community without terrorism, we need to give our law enforcement officers the technology they need to track down suspected terrorists.

This patriot act sounds all well and good, but how do we know if it will be used responsibly without an extreme inbreachment of privacy? (G)- Congress has oversight responsibilities. Congress created a civil liberties board to ensure the patriot act and other laws uphold ...