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Senate Panel Considering Patriot Act Expansion Bill in Secret; ACLU Says Fixes, Not Expansions, Are Needed (06/07/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is meeting today behind closed doors to conclude secret deliberations on legislation designed to reauthorize - and expand - the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the secretive process, and said lawmakers should be reforming, not expanding, the most extreme parts of the Patriot Act. The proposed bill would make the Patriot Act's most controversial provisions permanent, and further expand it by allowing FBI agents to issue their own search orders with no court approval.

ACLU Disappointed with Patriot Act Expansion Bill Approved in Secret; Says "Administrative Subpoenas" Create End-Run Round Constitution (06/07/2005)
WASHINGTON - Following reports that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today approved - behind closed doors - legislation designed to reauthorize and expand the Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed its disappointment with the secretive process and the end result that tramples on the Constitution.

Senate Intelligence Committee Considers Patriot Act Expansion Bill in Secret; ACLU Calls for Open and Public Dialogue (05/26/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union denounced today's closed-door votes by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence of legislation designed to reauthorize - and expand - the Patriot Act. Included in the committee's deliberations are proposals to make the Patriot Act's most controversial provisions permanent, and to expand it by allowing FBI agents issue their own search orders with no advance court approval.

Patriot Act Provision Lets Government Grab Personal Records Secretly; ACLU Testifies Before House That Law Needs Checks and Balances (05/26/2005)
WASHINGTON - The "national security letter" provision of the Patriot Act goes too far in letting the government secretly gather confidential records and gagging those ordered to turn them over, the American Civil Liberties Union said in testimony before a key panel of lawmakers Thursday.

Senate Intelligence Committee Examines Controversial Patriot Act Expansion Bill; Closed Door Vote to Be Held This Week (05/24/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence met today to consider legislation that would reauthorize - and expand - the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union denounced attempts to expand, rather than critically review and reform, the controversial provisions set to expire at the end of the year. A proposal to make the law's most controversial provisions permanent, and to expand it by allowing FBI agents issue their own search orders with no advance court approval, will likely be voted on in secret Thursday.

ACLU Urges Lawmakers to Enact "Common Sense" Fixes to Patriot Act In Appearance Before the House Intelligence Committee (05/19/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union appeared today before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a public oversight hearing on the Patriot Act and renewed its call for changes to bring the 2001 anti-terrorism measure in line with the Constitution.

ACLU Applauds Colorado's Call to Be Safe and Free; Nationwide Patriot Act Resolution Movement Still Gaining Momentum (05/17/2005)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the state of Colorado for passing a bipartisan resolution calling on Congress to bring the controversial Patriot Act in line with the Constitution. Colorado becomes the seventh state, and joins at least 382 other communities that have passed such resolutions. A similar resolution recently passed the Idaho state legislature.

Senate Committee to Review Controversial Patriot Act Legislation in Secret; Draft Legislation Hidden from Public (05/17/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Senate Intelligence Committee announced today that it is rushing forward with a markup of Patriot Act reauthorization legislation Thursday, but that the session will be behind closed doors

ACLU Urges Court to Reject Interpretation of Terrorism Funding Law that Hinders Work of Humanitarian Groups (05/16/2005)
SAN FRANCISCO -- A law broadened by the Patriot Act exposes legitimate humanitarian organizations to severe criminal penalties simply for doing their jobs, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. The ACLU filed a legal brief Friday in support of a challenge to the law.

House Hearing Follows Revelation of Patriot Act Flaws and Uses, ACLU Says Disclosure Represents Likely "Tip of the Iceberg" (04/06/2005)
WASHINGTON - Following yesterday's Senate hearing on the Patriot Act that provided ample evidence that it was passed with undue haste, the American Civil Liberties Union today called upon the House Judiciary Committee to probe deeper into the implementation - and possible abuses of - the controversial 2001 anti-terrorism law. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is testifying before that panel in an oversight hearing today.

Patriot Act Oversight Hearing Highlights Flaws, Increasing Use Of Special Search, Surveillance Powers (04/05/2005)
WASHINGTON - Today's oversight hearing on the USA Patriot Act, the 2001 law that removed checks on the government's ability to collect information on innocent Americans, provided ample evidence that the Patriot Act was passed with undue haste and has been flawed in its implementation, the American Civil Liberties Union said.

As First Patriot Act 'Sunsets' Hearings Convene, Justice Department Muddies Debate With Disingenuous Claim (04/05/2005)
WASHINGTON - As the Senate gaveled in the first hearing on the expiring portions of the Patriot Act today, the American Civil Liberties Union accused the Justice Department of falsely arguing that a judge did not hold a section of the Patriot Act unconstitutional last year.

Bipartisan Legislation Would Fix Worst Parts of Patriot Act While Maintaining Key Law Enforcement Powers (04/05/2005)
WASHINGTON - New bipartisan legislation that will be introduced tomorrow would bring some of the most extreme provisions of the Patriot Act back in line with the Constitution, the American Civil Liberties Union said. The bill would restore checks and balances on federal domestic spying powers and narrow several controversial Patriot Act provisions.

ACLU Says Disclosure on "Sneak and Peek" Warrants Raises Many Questions; Release of Information Comes Before Congress Starts Patriot Act Hearings (04/04/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department's limited release of numbers this evening raises as many questions as it answers. We encourage Congress, as it begins its review of the Patriot Act this week, to ask the Justice Department to fully explain and expand on the partial picture that it painted this evening.

Patriot Act Abuses and Misuses Abound, ACLU Says; Disclosure Comes Before Congress Begins Review of Controversial Law (04/04/2005)
WASHINGTON - A day before Congress begins its oversight of the controversial Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union today responded to an inquiry by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) about abuses of the Patriot Act, saying that the Patriot Act has been abused and misused repeatedly by the government since its enactment.

Montana Resolution Bars State Participation in Patriot Act Measures; Legislature Urges Congress to Restore Checks and Balances in Law (04/04/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded Montana for passing the strongest state-level resolution in the country against the Patriot Act. The bipartisan resolution calls on Congress to bring the controversial anti-terrorism legislation in line with the Constitution, and prohibits state agencies from participating in abusive federal security measures.

ACLU Joins Conservatives to Restore Freedoms Lost Under Patriot Act; "Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances" Hopes to Shape National Dialogue (03/22/2005)
WASHINGTON -The American Civil Liberties Union said today that it has joined forces with the several conservative organizations to fix the most extreme provisions of the Patriot Act, some of which are scheduled to "sunset," or expire, at the end of the year. Former Congressman Bob Barr, a Republican from Georgia, will chair the new group, "Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances," which includes Americans for Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union and others.

ACLU Seeks Records on Use of Patriot Act to Deny U.S. Entry to Prominent Foreign Scholars (03/16/2005)
NEW YORK -- Citing a serious and growing threat to academic freedom, the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records concerning the government's practice of excluding scholars and other prominent individuals from the U.S. because of their political views.

ACLU Calls on Gonzales to Engage in Open Dialogue on Patriot Act; Rhetoric of Administration Fails to Match Policies, Actions (03/07/2005)
WASHINGTON - With certain provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress renews them, the administration is putting on the charm offensive. Today Attorney General Alberto Gonzales continued the public relations campaign started by former Attorney General John Ashcroft and President Bush. Their spin, however, hasn't calmed the millions of Americans who are concerned that our basic rights have been compromised in the name of national security.

ACLU Calls for Full Discourse on Controversial Patriot Act Powers; President's Support of Automatic Renewal Fails American's Freedoms (02/14/2005)
WASHINGTON - Appearing before the Department of Justice, President Bush has yet again called on Congress to renew the Patriot Act. While 10 percent of that act is set to sunset at the end of this year, we should be mindful that Congress specifically designed those controversial provisions to expire so that cooler heads could examine, review, and-- if warranted-- amend and renew them.