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USA Patriot Act

In the wake of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history on September 11, 2001, just six weeks later with little Congressional resistance or analysis the U.S. Congress passed into law the USA Patriot Act, (USA, 2001). Also known as H.R. 3162, the stated purposes of the Act is ôTo deter and punish terrorist acts in the U.S. and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes,ö (Act, 2001, p. 1). Despite this purpose, the Act represents both good and bad points with respect to fighting terrorism and negative consequences on the civil liberties of U.S. citizens. For the most part, I believe the USA Patriot Act does little to combat terrorism and represents a threat to the liberties of the American people.

There is no denying that the hastily passed Patriot Act does have provisions and measures that help the U.S. Government expand its surveillance of suspected terrorists and their activities. For example, Section 203 of the Act combined forces of domestic law enforcement and foreign intelligence, previously separate ôàcollection operations on separate tracks,ö (Podesta, 2002, p. 2). The Act also provides U.S. authorities with expanded powers to freeze suspected terrorist assets in foreign countries and increases their ability to gain access to offshore banking records. The Act amended what is known as the Bank Secrecy Act.

The funding of terrorism is a criminal offense and those who fund terrorists are often able to conceal their activities. The Act is good in resolving this issue, as Section 312 pertains to due-diligence and information keeping requirements of offshore banks, while Section 311 of the Act provides the Secretary of the Treasury authority to label non-U.S. financial institutions, non-U.S. jurisdiction or international transactions or accounts a primary money laundering concern, (Act, 2001). Section 319 of the Act permits the mandate

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USA Patriot Act. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:54, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1710567.html