Constitutional Law

A Win On the Patriot Act

By Allie Bohm, Center for Democracy

You did it! Yesterday, we told you that the House of Representatives would be voting today on the Patriot Act. We asked you to get angry, to show Congress that you care about this nearly-10-year old law, and to tell your representatives that you want the Patriot reformed so that the government can no longer use it to violate the rights of everyday people who have nothing to do with terrorism. Well, Congress heard you loud and clear. Tonight, around 7 pm, the House failed to get enough votes to extend the Patriot Act until Dec. 8, 2011. You can see how your representative voted here.

We hope you'll celebrate this victory tonight. We know we will.

But, tomorrow, we will have to get back to work. Three provisions of the Patriot Act still expire on February 28, and undoubtedly, this is not the last we've seen of efforts to reauthorize them sans reform. We need you to stay strong and work with us to make sure your members of Congress reform the Patriot Act this year. You have a tremendous amount of power, and you just proved it. Thank you, and keep it up!

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Full post as published by Blog of Rights on February 09, 2011 (boomark / email).