You're FOS...................Again.
The Patriot Act was passed in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Although many provisions of the Act had been proposed before to substantial criticism, Congress swiftly approved the Act with little debate and no House, Senate, or conference report.
When the legislative proposals were introduced by the Bush administration in the aftermath of September 11th, Attorney General John Ashcroft gave Congress one week in which to pass the bill — without changes.
Attorney General John Ashcroft warned that further terrorist acts were imminent, and that Congress could be to blame for such attacks if it failed to pass the bill immediately.
The
Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act or Patriot Act). The Act was introduced less than a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks and passed with little debate or opposition. The Patriot Act expanded surveillance for law enforcement by:
- Expanding domestic and international wiretapping and pen register monitoring;
- Expanding authority to access electronic communications;
- Allowing secret “sneak and peak” searches;
- Removing privacy protections to allow federal agencies to share more information; and
- Expanding funding to federal law enforcement agencies.