August 15, 2005
PATRIOT Act resolutions affect Congressional votes
Contact:
Nancy Talanian, Director
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
413-582-0110; info@bordc.org
Northampton, MA- Congress's recent vote on the USA PATRIOT Act shows that the nearly 400 community resolutions opposing parts of the Act have had a discernable impact. The 171 House members who opposed H.R. 3199, the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005, represented 301 communities with resolutions, whereas the 257 members who supported the bill represented 85 communities with resolutions.
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC), which tracks the resolutions and which analyzed the vote results, also looked at the House votes on a motion to recommit the bill, which preceded the vote on H.R. 3199. The motion included instructions to reinstate four-year sunsets for the 16 provisions set to expire at the end of 2005. A total of 312 resolutions had passed in the districts of the 209 who voted in favor of the motion, compared to 74 resolutions in the districts of the 218 who voted against it.
According to BORDC director Nancy Talanian, the outcome of the House vote is just one of the important impacts of the community resolutions. "The resolutions and the public education on civil liberties issues that precedes their passage has extended the debate about the PATRIOT Act and other post-9/11 laws and policies from the halls of Congress to town halls, living rooms, and church basements nationwide." Another effect is that it has made significant bridges across party lines. "Clearly, people across the political spectrum feel that their civil liberties are too important to leave up to Washington alone."
Talanian observes that the communities that have passed resolutions will not be satisfied if Congress approves PATRIOT Act reauthorization legislation making all but a few provisions permanent with only minor changes. "They are calling for their representatives in Congress to set aside party loyalties and to remember their obligations to uphold their constituents' constitutional rights to speak freely, to be left alone if they are doing nothing wrong, and to receive due process of law if they are accused of a crime." She notes that their concerns go well beyond the PATRIOT Act, to the expanded FBI powers to spy on lawful political and religious activity, mass secret arrests and detentions without charges, abuse of the material witness authority, and more.
BORDC formed in November 2001, two weeks after the USA PATRIOT Act became law, and began helping people in hundreds of cities and towns throughout the United States organize to affirm and protect constitutional rights and liberties. In the past three and a half years, community-based organizations have used BORDC's strategies, organizing assistance, community networking, and web-based resources to pass 393 resolutions and ordinances in 43 states, including statewide resolutions in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, and Vermont. Today, 62 million people live in these "civil liberties safe zones."
Press Advisory:
- Alphabetical list by state of communities with resolutions: www.bordc.org/list.php?sortAlpha=1.