PELOSI STATEMENT ON SAFE ACT
Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the
following statement today on cosponsoring the Security and Freedom Ensured
Act of 2003 (SAFE) act, H.R. 3335:
"As we protect and defend the American people against terrorism, we must
protect and defend the Constitution and the civil liberties that define our
democracy.
"When Congress voted for the Patriot Act, it was clearly understood that
the Patriot Act was intended to combat terrorism. Now that we have had
time to assess how the Patriot Act is being used, it is clear that Attorney
General John Ashcroft has misused the Patriot Act for investigations that
have nothing to do with terrorism. We should not simply extend it, but we
should correct it to prevent abuses of our civil liberties.
"In particular, we need to look at measures to restore the federal
judiciary's role to ensure that the Attorney General's far-reaching powers
are not abused. The SAFE Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, would modify
the Patriot Act by requiring court approval for the FBI to obtain records
and wiretaps. The SAFE Act would also make clear that the exercise of
political protest is protected. We should be able to keep the American
people safe without threatening our civil liberties."
ACTION REQUESTED:
Contact your elected representatives to ask that they support the SAFE Act.GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/issues/alert/?alertid=5133171&type=CO
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Posted by shereen at March 10, 2004 12:20 AM