Bush calls for renewal of Patriot Act [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

THE WHITE HOUSE

                         Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2004

       Fact Sheet: President Bush Calls for Renewing the USA PATRIOT Act
      Also Urges Congress to Close Loopholes in Other Anti-Terrorism Laws

Today

's Presidential Action

Ø      The President traveled to Hershey, Pennsylvania today to address the
   importance of the USA PATRIOT Act with local and state officials.

Ø      The President called for Congress to renew all parts of the USA 
PATRIOT
   Act that are scheduled to expire next year.  Before 9/11, barriers 
prevented
   counterterrorism officials from communicating effectively with one 
another.
   The USA PATRIOT Act brought down the artificial wall separating law
   enforcement and intelligence officers and allowed them to talk to 
each other
   as they work to prevent future attacks.

Ø      The President also called upon Congress to close existing legal 
loopholes
   that deny law enforcement officials the same tools to fight terror 
that they
   have to fight other crime.  These include:

   o          Using administrative subpoenas, enabling law enforcement 
officials
      to obtain certain time-sensitive records more quickly ? a legal tool
      already used in civil and criminal matters such as healthcare 
fraud cases;
   o          Establishing a presumptive denial of bail in terrorism 
cases -- a
      legal tool currently used against drug dealers, which will ensure 
that the
      law does not allow suspected terrorists to be released before 
trial; and
   o          Allowing the death penalty for terrorist crimes that 
result in
      death.  This would close a legal loophole that enables some 
sexual abuse
      and drug-related offenses that result in death to qualify for the 
death
      penalty ? but not some terrorism crimes that result in the death of
      innocents.

Background on Today's Presidential Action

Ø      Before September 11, law enforcement, intelligence, and national 
security
   officials were prevented by legal and bureaucratic restrictions from 
sharing
   critical information with each other ? and with state and local law
   enforcement officials.  These restrictions made it much more 
difficult to get
   a complete picture of the terrorist threats ? preventing law 
enforcement from
   having all the pieces of the puzzle in one place.

Ø      By passing the USA Patriot Act, we removed those barriers ? and 
now, the
   law enforcement and intelligence communities are working together as 
never
   before.  The USA PATRIOT Act was passed with overwhelming 
bi-partisan support
   by the Senate 98-1, and 357?66 by the House of Representatives.

Ø      The USA PATRIOT Act has played a key role in a number of successful
   operations to protect innocent Americans from terrorists.  In 
passing the USA
   PATRIOT Act, Congress provided for measured changes in the law.  But 
these
   changes have enabled the Federal Government to better track terrorists,
   disrupt their cells, seize their assets, and share more information with
   state and local law enforcement.

   o          The USA PATRIOT Act facilitates information sharing and
      cooperation among government agencies so that they can better 
"connect the
      dots."  The Act removed barriers that prevented the law enforcement,
      intelligence, and national defense communities from coordinating 
their
      work to protect the American people and our national security. 
Now FBI
      agents, Federal prosecutors, and intelligence officials can 
protect our
      communities by "connecting the dots" to uncover terrorist plots 
before
      they are completed while respecting constitutional rights.

   o          The Act allows law enforcement to conduct investigations 
without
      tipping off terrorists.  If criminals are tipped off too early to an
      investigation, they are likely to flee, destroy evidence, 
intimidate or
      kill witnesses, cut off contact with associates, or take other 
actions to
      evade arrest.  Therefore, Federal courts in narrow circumstances 
have long
      allowed law enforcement to delay for a limited time notifying a 
subject
      that a judicially-approved search warrant has been executed.  The USA
      PATRIOT Act codified the procedures for obtaining these warrants, 
which
      require court approval.  Notice is always provided, but with 
reasonable
      delay, enabling law enforcement to identify the criminal's 
associates,
      eliminate immediate threats to our communities, and coordinate 
the arrests
      of multiple individuals without tipping them off beforehand.

Ø      The USA PATRIOT Act uses proven law enforcement methods in new 
ways to
   reflect new technologies and new threats.  The Act brought the law 
up-to-date
   with the new technologies actually used by terrorists, so America no 
longer
   has to fight a digital-age battle with outdated legal authorities.

   o          Roving wiretaps ? in which a wiretap authorization 
attaches to a
      particular suspect, rather than a particular communication device 
? have
      been used by law enforcement for years to investigate ordinary crimes
      including drug offenses and racketeering.  The USA PATRIOT Act 
authorized
      the same techniques in national-security investigations. This 
provision
      has enhanced the government's authority to monitor sophisticated
      international terrorists and intelligence officers, who are 
trained to
      thwart surveillance, such as by rapidly changing cell phones, 
just before
      important meetings or communications.
   o          Before September 11, law enforcement could more easily 
obtain the
      business and financial records of white-collar criminals than of 
suspected
      terrorists.  The USA PATRIOT Act ended this double standard ? 
making it
      easier for investigators to catch suspected terrorists by 
following their
      paper trail.
   o          Before the USA PATRIOT Act, federal judges could impose 
tougher
      prison terms on drug traffickers than they could on terrorists. 
Now, the
      penalties for crimes committed by terrorists have been strengthened.


Ø      The USA PATRIOT Act gives investigators the tools, such as roving
   wiretaps and delayed-notification search warrants, which are needed 
to stop
   terrorists before they strike, fulfilling America's duty to win the 
War on
   Terror and never forget the lessons of September 11, 2001.  The USA 
PATRIOT
   Act has not diminished our liberty ? it has defended our liberty and 
made
   America more secure.  Congress must renew the USA PATRIOT Act and take
   further steps to improve our ability to fight terror within the United
   States.
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