Russ Feingold: “yesterday the Senate took further steps to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act without the fundamental checks and balances that…”

“yesterday the Senate took further steps to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act without the fundamental checks and balances that so many of us believe are needed. To bring us back to first principles, I read aloud the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And to remind us of the broad, bipartisan support for amending the PATRIOT Act all over this country, I read the eight statewide resolutions that have passed in the last few years expressing concerns about the PATRIOT Act. I also read some of the nearly 400 local resolutions that have passed--the four resolutions from my own State of Wisconsin. Today I want to continue by reading some additional items to take my colleagues back to how hard we fought in November and December to stop the flawed conference report, and how many Americans wanted us to do better than we have done this week. Let me start with a few editorials. The resolutions passed by State and city governments that I read here on the floor yesterday are not the only way by which Americans have expressed their concerns about the PATRIOT Act. The Fourth Estate has weighed in too, with many newspapers running editorials or columns criticizing the PATRIOT Act's effect on Americans' freedom. And not just a few newspapers, but dozens and dozens, from all across the United States. From major national newspapers to small, local newspapers. Papers in big cities and small towns. All concerned about the erosion of civil liberties under the PATRIOT Act.…”