Charles Skelton: “the PATRIOT Act has been an important law enforcement tool in the years following the dastardly terrorist attacks on our…”

“the PATRIOT Act has been an important law enforcement tool in the years following the dastardly terrorist attacks on our country, and taken as a whole, the bill has enhanced our national security. The United States and our allies are fighting a war like no other. It is an unconventional war that must be met with unconventional tools used by law enforcement professionals to protect the American people from those who would do us harm. The PATRIOT Act provides federal officers greater powers to trace and intercept terrorists' communications for law enforcement and foreign intelligence purposes. It reinforces federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations in an effort to deny terrorists the resources necessary for future attacks. It tightens laws pertaining to seaport security. And, it creates several new federal crimes, such as laws outlawing terrorists' attacks on mass transit and increases penalties for many other violations of the law. As is true of any law that empowers the government to collect security-related information domestically, evaluating the PATRIOT Act requires us to weigh a wide range of competing interests, like the ability of our government to detect and thwart terrorist attacks and the constitutional rights of the American people. Of course, proper oversight of the PATRIOT Act by Congress is essential to guaranteeing our constitutional rights are not trampled.…”