[ COPY of Letter to US Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton ]

We are writing to express our deep concern, as elected officials representing the 219,000 people of the City of Rochester, and as fellow Americans, about the possible re-authorization of the USA Patriot Act.

As you know, on February 3rd , sixteen surveillance provisions of the Act are set to expire. There is justifiable concern about significant infringement on civil liberties contained in these post -9/11 surveillance and information sharing procedures. It is very disturbing that the Department of Justice has failed to adequately answer questions presented by the Judiciary Committee about how frequently it has utilized the numerous increased surveillance and search powers that have been extended to the FBI. The expanded use of the secret FISA court further confounds Congressional ability to provide critical checks and balances on supposedly terror related investigations. The lowered standards for property searches and pen register, secret records searches, roving wire taps, and a blurring of the line between criminal investigations and foreign intelligence erode the essence of democracy, chilling First Amendment rights and weakening the Fourth Amendment.

History has shown us time and again that unbridled Executive powers have the capacity to devolve into, at best, paranoid surveillance of our own citizens, and at worst, a means to maintain power and muffle dissension. Under either scenario we experience great pressure on our freedom of speech and freedom of association. Democracy cannot work without a people emboldened to comment upon, criticize, and partake in peaceful action against their government.

When the USA Patriot Act was first enacted in 2001, Congress had the wisdom and foresight to add sunset provisions to particularly intrusive elements of the legislation. As you know, the 9/11 Commission recommended that the burden of proof for showing Congress that the Act should be renewed should lie with President Bush. Specifically, the Commission stated that the President should demonstrate how each power materially enhances security and that there is adequate supervision of the powers to ensure that civil liberties are protected. We do not believe these recommendations have been heeded by the President and his Justice Department.

Given the paucity of information from the Justice Department about the implementation of the USA Patriot Act and the President’s inability to present substantial and accurate evidence as to the critical nature of re-authorizing the law for the defense of this country against terrorism, we ask that you vote down those measures that impinge upon the very civil liberties that make America a world leader.

Title II of the USA Patriot Act contains numerous surveillance measures that have drastically enlarged FBI powers with no oversight beyond a secret court whose documents are withheld from review by Congress. Of particular concern are the following sections, most of which are expiring:

- Section 203 (b) and (d) relating to the express document sharing between intelligence agencies and other parts of government,
- Section 206, that allows roving wire taps,
- Section 215, that allows secret and easier access to business records, which could include library and bookstore records,
- Section 218, that lowers the bar for launching foreign intelligence wiretaps and searches,
- Section 213, that allows “sneak and peak” search warrants, giving authorities the right to search without immediately notifying the target (No expiration), and
- Title VIII, Section 805, that expands the existing ban on giving material support to terrorists to include expert advice or assistance, which could lead to guilt by association (No expiration).

We strongly urge you to include significantly enhanced Congressional oversight in legislation renewing the USA Patriot Act, and ask you to ensure that stringent protections are added as a condition of the Act's passage in order to protect against potentially egregious infringements on civil liberties.

Sincerely,

[ Signed by all 9 Council Members ]

Lois J. Giess, President
Gladys Santiago , Vice President
Carolee A. Conklin, Councilmember
Benjamin L. Douglas, Councilmember
John F. Lightfoot, Councilmember
Adam C. McFadden,Councilmember
Dana K. Miller,Councilmember
William F. Pritchard,Councilmember
Robert J. Stevenson,Councilmember