Reaction Of Sen. Patrick Leahy,
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee,
To The President’s News Conference Comments
About The USA PATRIOT Act
Monday, Dec. 19, 2005

“Unfortunately, the President persists in misstating the facts about the effort to fix the problems in the PATRIOT Act.  There is no reason why the American people cannot have a PATRIOT Act that is both effective and that adequately protects their rights and their privacy. 

“Instead of playing partisan politics and setting up false attack ads, the White House should join in trying to improve the PATRIOT Act.  Our goal is to mend it, not to end it.  If the White House is unwilling to fix it now, they should support the Sununu-Leahy three-month extension, which 40 senators have cosponsored, to give us to time to make this a better bill.  We ask the President to reconsider his opposition to briefly extending the expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act until these improvements are made.

“The White House’s domestic surveillance program also raises legitimate concerns about accountability.  A wiretap that short-circuits our laws and safeguards is no more effective than a legal wiretap.  It will not get you better intelligence and it will not make us any safer as a nation.  It only excuses the government from having to justify its conduct through constitutional checks and balances.

“Our government must follow the laws and respect the Constitution while it protects Americans’ security and liberty.  No Administration should believe it is above the law.  We need to restore checks and balances in this country to protect us all and all that we hold dear.”

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