Mike Levin: “the antiterrorism bill which the Senate is about to pass reflects the sentiments the American people have expressed…”

“the antiterrorism bill which the Senate is about to pass reflects the sentiments the American people have expressed since the events of September 11--that we must act swiftly and strongly to defend our country without sacrificing our most cherished values. The Senate antiterrorism legislation meets that test. It responds to these dangerous times by giving law enforcement agencies important new tools to use in combating terrorism without denigrating the principles of due process and fairness embedded in our Constitution. The bill is not perfect. In fact, during the Senate's consideration of its bill, I supported three amendments offered by Senator Feingold. Each of the Feingold amendments would have strengthened privacy protections for American citizens without undermining law enforcement efforts to investigate terrorists. One amendment would have maintained limits in Federal and State law on law enforcement access to personal records, particularly with regards to sensitive medical and financial information. A second amendment would have required law enforcement to ascertain that a surveillance target under the antiterrorism bill's expanded wiretap authority was actually in the house that was bugged or using the phone that was tapped before surveillance could be initiated. The third amendment that I supported would have placed sensible limits on the government's ability to intercept computer communications.”