Coalition Urges Maine Senators to Support PATRIOT Act Filibuster
Reauthorization Would Severely Erode Civil Liberties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Contact: Shenna Bellows, MCLU Executive Director, 774-5444

Portland:  A broad coalition of Maine organizations today urged Senators Snowe and Collins to support a bipartisan Senate filibuster of the USA PATRIOT Act Conference Report.  The Report, issued last week and supported by the Bush administration, is expected to come before the Senate as early as Wednesday.  It falls short of fixing the civil liberties violations of the original version of the PATRIOT Act and, in some cases, actually expands them.  A bipartisan group of three Republican and three Democratic senators vow a filibuster to stop the Conference Report from being approved.

“Groups on the right and left agreed that it was time to fix the Patriot Act to bring it back in line with the Constitution, but Congress refused to listen,” said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union.  “This reauthorization squanders any opportunity for reform.”

Several Maine groups that represent the constituents of Senators Snowe and Collins, including the NAACP, the Maine Library Association, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Peace Action Maine and Tengo Voz, have sent a coalition letter to the Senators, urging them to vote no on a cloture vote that would halt filibuster efforts.  The letter asks the Senators to support the filibuster and oppose any attempt at PATRIOT ACT reauthorization that does not include real reform.

The Conference Report instates four-year sunsets on three provisions of the Act that are due to expire, while making the rest of the provisions permanent and expanding the power of the FBI to issue National Security Letters (NSL).  Increasing the ability of the FBI to obtain the personal records of any American without due cause or any checks and balances severely erodes civil liberties and is a threat to the personal privacy of all Mainers. 

“It’s time for the Senators of Maine to stand up for their constituents – from librarians to gun owners to civil libertarians – to support the bipartisan filibuster of Patriot Act reauthorization until a real compromise is achieved.” said Bellows.  “We hope Congress will reject this bill and embrace the call for meaningful checks on these powers to preserve America’s legacy of liberty.”
###