Before the Patriot Act, courts could permit law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance to investigate many ordinary, non-terrorism crimes, such as drug crimes, mail fraud, and passport fraud. Allows law enforcement to use surveillance against more crimes of terror.To put it bluntly, that was crazy! What's good for the mob should be good for terrorists.' (Cong.

Joe Biden (D-DE) explained during the floor debate about the Act, 'the FBI could get a wiretap to investigate the mafia, but they could not get one to investigate terrorists. Many of the tools the Act provides to law enforcement to fight terrorism have been used for decades to fight organized crime and drug dealers, and have been reviewed and approved by the courts. The Patriot Act allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking. The Act Improves Our Counter-Terrorism Efforts in Several Significant Ways:ġ. (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism)Ĭongress enacted the Patriot Act by overwhelming, bipartisan margins, arming law enforcement with new tools to detect and prevent terrorism: The USA Patriot Act was passed nearly unanimously by the Senate 98-1, and 357-66 in the House, with the support of members from across the political spectrum. The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty

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