HR 3171 IH

To provide for an appropriate review of recently enacted legislation relating to terrorism to assure that powers granted in it do not inappropriately undermine civil liberties.

September 24, 2003

Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. PAUL, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. HONDA, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. LEE, Mr. STARK, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Select Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), Education and the Workforce, Government Reform, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To provide for an appropriate review of recently enacted legislation relating to terrorism to assure that powers granted in it do not inappropriately undermine civil liberties.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act' .

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Benjamin Franklin stated: `Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.'.

(2) The First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were established to protect the civil rights and liberties of all Americans in perpetuity.

(3) Federal policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) and related executive orders, regulations, and actions threaten fundamental rights and liberties, including the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution by--

(A) authorizing the indefinite incarceration of noncitizens based on mere suspicion, and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the President as `enemy combatants' without access to counsel or meaningful recourse to the Federal courts;

(B) limiting the traditional authority of Federal courts to curb law enforcement abuse of electronic surveillance in antiterrorism investigations and ordinary criminal investigations;

(C) expanding the authority of Federal agents to conduct so-called `sneak and peek' or `black bag' searches, in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his or her property has been searched;

(D) granting law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to personal medical, financial, library, and education records with little if any judicial oversight;

(E) chilling constitutionally protected speech through overbroad definitions of `terrorism';

(F) creating divisions between immigrant communities and the police that protect them by encouraging involvement of State and local police in enforcement of Federal immigration law; and the police that protect them;

(G) permitting the FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services, internet chatrooms, political demonstrations, and other public meetings of any kind without having any evidence that a crime has been or may be committed; and

(H) mandating the closure of certain immigration removal hearings, including denying judges the authority to reject stays of release where bond has been ordered and denying noncitizens the right to a bond hearing.

(4) Future legislation, such as legislation drafted entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA) or PATRIOT II, contains a multitude of new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers many of which are not related to terrorism, and would severely dilute and undermine many basic constitutional rights as well as disturb our unique system of checks and balances by--

(A) diminishing personal privacy by removing important checks on government surveillance authority;

(B) reducing the accountability of government to the public by increasing government secrecy;

(C) expanding the definition of `terrorism' in a manner that threatens the constitutionally protected rights of Americans; and

(D) seriously eroding the right of all persons to due process of law.

(5) The above new and unprecedented powers pose threats to all Americans and particularly to the civil rights and liberties of the residents of our Nation who are Arab, Muslim, or of South Asian descent.

SEC. 3. NINETY-DAY REVIEW PERIOD.

Each provision of law, regulation, or other policy directive listed in sections 4 through 10, and any amendments made by that provision, shall cease to have effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act . During this 90-day period, the Congress may, at the request of the President, hold hearings to determine whether a particular section should be removed from the list in section 4.

SEC. 4. PROVISIONS IN THE USA PATRIOT ACT .

The provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) to which section 3 applies are:

(1) Section 213, relating to `sneak and peak searches'.

(2) Section 214, relating to the use of pen registers for foreign intelligence purposes.

(3) Section 215, relating to the obtaining by the Government of certain business records.

(4) Section 216, relating to the use of pen registers in criminal cases.

(5) Section 218, relating to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act .

(6) Section 411, relating to new grounds for deportation.

(7) Section 412, relating to mandatory detention of certain aliens.

(8) Section 505, relating to national security letters.

(9) Section 507, relating to educational records.

(10) Section 508, relating to collection and disclosure of individually identifiable information under the National Education Statistics Act of 1994.

(11) Section 802, relating to the definition of domestic terrorism.

SEC. 5. PROVISIONS OF AVIATION SECURITY ACT EXCLUDING PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS FROM BEING BAGGAGE CHECKERS.

Section 3 also applies to section 44935(e)(2)(A)(ii) of title 49, United States Code.

SEC. 6. HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 PROVISIONS.

Section 3 also applies to the following provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002:

(1) Section 214, relating to an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act .

(2) Section 871, relating to an exemption from the Federal Advisory Committee Act .

SEC. 7. IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS PROVISIONS.

Section 3 also applies to the following provisions of regulations:

(1) The regulation found at 66 Federal Register 48334-35 (September 20, 2001) relating to time held without charges.

(2) The regulation found at 66 Federal Register 54909-12 (October 31, 2001) relating to automatic stays for the Government in immigration hearings.

(3) The so-called `Creppy memo' that mandates closed immigration hearings in certain cases, and 67 Federal Register 54878 (August 26, 2002) relating to restructuring appeals.

(4) Any legal opinion or regulation that increases the powers of the Attorney General to authorize State or local law enforcement officers to exercise Federal immigration enforcement beyond those given in 8 CFR Part 2 or 28 CFR Part 65.

(5) The regulation found at 67 Federal Register 52584 (August 12, 2002), relating to registration and monitoring of certain aliens, and all notices published pursuant to that regulation.

SEC. 8. ATTORNEY-CLIENT MONITORING.

Section 3 also applies to the regulation found at 66 Federal Register 55063, relating to monitoring conversations between attorneys and clients.

SEC. 9. SECRECY ORDERS.

Section 3 also applies to the memorandum of Attorney General Ashcroft dated October 12, 2001 and relating to the disclosure of documents under the Freedom of Information Act .

SEC. 10. THORNBURG GUIDELINES ON RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION SPYING.

Section 3 also applies to any regulations having the effect of changing the effect of the Attorney General's Guidelines on General Crimes, Racketeering Enterprise and Domestic Security/Terrorism Investigations approved by Attorney General Dick Thornburg for the Department of Justice on March 21, 1989.