The USA PATRIOT Act: A Sketch

Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Act gives federal officials greater authority to track and intercept communications, both for law enforcement and foreign intelligence gathering purposes. It vests the Secretary of the Treasury with regulatory powers to combat corruption of U.S. financial institutions for foreign money laundering purposes. It seeks to further close U.S. borders to foreign terrorists and to detain and remove those within its borders. It creates new crimes, new penalties, and new procedural efficiencies for use against domestic and international terrorists. Although it is not without safeguards, critics contend some of its provisions go too far. Although it grants many of the enhancements sought by the Department of Justice, others are concerned that it does not go far enough. The Act originated as H.R. 2975 the PATRIOT Act in the House and S.1510 in the Senate the USA Act. S.1510 passed the Senate on October 11, 2001, 147 Cong. Rec. S10604 daily ed.. The House Judiciary Committee reported out an amended version of H.R. 2975 on the same day, H.R.Rep.No. 107-236. The House passed H.R. 2975 the following day after substituting the text of H.R. 3108, 147 Cong. Rec. H6775-776 daily ed. Oct. 12, 2001. The House version incorporated most of the money laundering provisions found in an earlier House bill, H.R. 3004, many of which had counterparts in S.1510 as approved by the Senate. The House subsequently passed a clean bill, H.R. 3162 under suspension of the rules, which resolved the differences between H.R. 2975 and S.1510, 147 Cong. Rec. H7224 daily ed. Oct. 24, 2001. The Senate agreed to the changes, 147 Cong. Rec. S10969 daily ed. Oct. 24, 2001, and H.R. 3162 was sent to the President who signed it on October 26, 2001. This is an abbreviated version of The USA PATRIOT Act A Legal Analysis, CRS Report RL31377, stripped of its citations and footnotes.