House Representative Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., addressed issues concerning the USA Patriot Act at a conference held during this week’s student government Patriot Action Week late Wednesday afternoon.
Baldwin focused on the current situation regarding the effects of the Patriot Act. She said the Act, which was passed Oct. 26, 2001, in response to Sept. 11, 2001, has expanded terrorism laws, expanded the ability of law enforcement to conduct secret searches, lowered the evidentiary standard, and blurred the line between criminal and intelligence investigations, in which Baldwin expressed concern.
“These provisions give me great consternation about this measure,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin stated the enactment of the Patriot Act was essentially to suffice for the tools the U.S. government needed to confront new threats and new technologies being presented from other nations after the Sept. 11 attacks.
However, the under-provision of the bill’s passing by a unanimous bipartisan vote has caused Baldwin and other members of Congress to be concerned, including Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, she said.
“We’re concerned about who these ‘targets’ will be and how the government will target them as well as how ‘domestic terrorism’ will be defined,” Baldwin said.
Institutions such as the Library Association have voiced they did not appreciate the government having access to what their readers read and that they did not want to have a ‘gag order’ on disclosing what people read, Baldwin said.
In response to a question about what Congress is currently doing about the Patriot Act, Baldwin said that members of Congress, like herself, are pressing to understand how the government is using tools and methods to enforce the act.
“We must recognize that significant portions of the USA Patriot Act will be on the sunset in 2005,” Baldwin said. Baldwin also said President George W. Bush and some legislators want to either review or add provisions to the laws.
“Repairing bills offered in the House and Senate will advance further inquiry in the future,” Baldwin said.
She also said much of the progress regarding the issue of the Patriot Act is contingent upon people being interested in events such as the conference.
“Asking people in public policy about the act, passing local resolutions, and even writing letters to editors are ways we can make great strides,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin ended in saying citizens can make a difference by simply making themselves heard.
“I like to hear from people whether or not they agree with my stance on this issue. Some may think that a drop in the water may not make a difference, but the Grand Canyon was made over time with thousands upon thousands of drops,” she said.
University of Wisconsin senior Sarah Grams, who attended the event, said she listened to Baldwin as an aware and concerned student.
“I came today because I wanted to know what directions of action Representative Baldwin and the rest of Congress were proposing about the Patriot Act,” Grams said. “There is still a lot of integrity from representatives in Congress. It is great that they are working hard toward revising the act, and it was encouraging to hear Representative Baldwin speak.”
