MCLU Urges Maine Lawmakers to Reject Patriot Act Reauthorization Package, Saying Bill Neglects Civil Liberties Concerns
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Portland- The United States House and Senate are expected to take final votes on a Patriot Act reauthorization package this week. A conference committee has completed negotiations to reconcile differences between House and Senate Patriot Act bills, eliminating Patriot Act reforms that had been advanced by both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. The Maine Civil Liberties Union urges the Maine Congressional delegation to reject Patriot Act reauthorization that fails to make any significant repairs to the original Act.
“If Maine’s Congressional delegation is serious about fixing the Patriot Act, they will vote no,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. “This reauthorization package takes the Patriot Act from bad to worse.”
The Maine Civil Liberties Union had joined a diverse coalition of groups across Maine, from the Maine Gun Owners Association to the Maine Library Association, in a four-year campaign to advance Patriot Act reform. These efforts mirrored the efforts of groups at the national level, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the American Conservative Union, to curb Patriot Act abuses. Locally, several Maine municipalities including Portland, Bangor, Waterville, Orono, and Mount Vernon passed resolutions calling for Patriot Act reform, and the Maine State Legislature passed a resolution in 2004 expressing concerns about certain provisions of the Patriot Act.
“Mainers on the right and the left agree that the Patriot Act went too far too fast in undermining our constitutional rights,” said Bellows. “Congress should heed their constituents’ calls for reform by voting no on this Patriot Act expansion.”
To read the draft conference report of the Patriot Act reauthorization legislation, go to:
To learn more about the ACLU's concerns with the Patriot Act, go to: http://www.reformthepatriotact.org
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Contact: Shenna Bellows, MCLU, 207-774-5444; sbellows@mclu.org