HR 3179 – New Legislation, Bad Old Idea

Last year, the Justice Department proposed legislation that became known as Patriot Act II. This legislation would have strengthened the original Patriot Act by broadening the government’s power to conduct searches and by imposing severe penalties anyone who refused to secretly comply with requests for information made under the Patriot Act’s powers.

Patriot Act II was eventually killed due to the public outcry caused by its assault on The Bill of Rights. Now, it is rearing its ugly head again, but in a different form.

A number of members of Congress have revived certain of the most controversial clauses in Patriot Act II and they are now attaching them as amendments to other bills that are making their way through Congress.

At present, the greatest threat is HR 3179, which is being called the Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Tools Improvement Act of 2003.

When the original Patriot Act was signed into law, it allowed the government to conduct “sneak and peak” searches, and to demand medical, financial, employment, transaction and ISP records of terrorism suspects. Sneak and peak searches are secret searches that take place without a traditional search warrant. All that is required is a “National Security Letter” issued drafted by the FBI. Likewise, these letters can be used to compel any business to turn over customer records in secret. In fact, the Patriot Act makes it a crime for anyone who is presented with a National Security Letter to reveal the fact that it has been presented to them.

When Congress passed the Patriot Act, it failed to include any penalties for businesses that refuse to comply with record requests, or for individuals that violate the secrecy provisions regarding National Security Letters. This gave both businesses and individuals some wiggle room, allowing them to negotiate their level of participation or giving them the ability to force the government to more highly target their requests for information.
HR 3179 would change this by providing, among other things, strict penalties for any person or business who does not comply with the secrecy clause of the Patriot Act, or with a request for information made with the use of a National Security Letter. In fact, violating the secrecy clause of the law could bring up to five years in prison.

The fact that Congress would continue to push these provisions of Patriot Act II is especially disconcerting given the public outcry against the law. This dissent has not only come from concerned citizens and privacy advocates. It has also come from State and municipal governments. In fact, 322 municipalities and four states (Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont) have passed anti-Patriot Act resolutions. Some of these go as far as stating that state or municipal employees should not cooperate with the Federal Government when requests for information on citizens are made through the Patriot Act.

HR 3179 would effectively void these state and local resolutions.

And there is reason to be concerned. Although the Patriot Act was enacted to deal with terrorism, the Justice Department admits that it has used the provisions of the Patriot Act to investigate drug dealers and racketeering. This is disturbing because the act clearly gives the government the ability to circumvent the Fourth Amendment’s provisions on unlawful search and seizure.

It has become increasingly clear that public opinion has turned against the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II. Unfortunately, some elected representatives have taken the attitude that the opinions of their constituents don’t count.

To read the full text of HR 3179, click here.