Fw: Patriot Act: Call Your Members of Congress this Wednesday - FCNL

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie" <kathyguthrie@fcnl.org>
To: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 4:08 PM
Subject: Patriot Act: Call Your Members of Congress this Wednesday - FCNL

Patriot Act: Call Your Members of Congress this Wednesday

Congress is expected to take up the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT
Act later this month. On WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, join with members of
the ACLU, the American Library Association, the Bill of Rights Defense
Committee, and (at least!) 15 other groups in a National Patriot Act
Call-In Day. PLEASE CALL both of your senators and your
representative, urging them to support the provisions of the Senate
version of the USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill that help ensure
the protection of civil liberties.

Find the phone numbers for your members of Congress using FCNL's
congressional directory, http://capwiz.com/fconl/directory/congdir.tt.
You can also call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to
speak to your members of Congress by name.

Ask your legislators to support civil liberties by:
* ensuring library and business records can't be sought without a
connection
to terrorism,
* allowing meaningful challenges to requests for library, business, and
electronic communications records.

BACKGROUND
In December 2005, a bipartisan group of senators filibustered to stop
the passage of a USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill that does not
protect civil liberties. Congress will attempt to pass this legislation
again by February 3, 2006, extending 16 provisions of the USA PATRIOT
Act that would otherwise expire.

Recent news stories about warrant-less National Security Agency
wiretaps and spying on peaceful protestors around the country have made
it clear that the executive branch is expanding its power and must be
restrained under law and through close oversight. Congress must now,
more than ever, preserve free speech, privacy, and the right of
citizens to seek a court review of government action. As Congress
prepares to reauthorize controversial portions of the USA PATRIOT Act
and to add new sections, make sure your senators and representatives
hear from you about your concerns.

Some of the positive outcomes that could come from appropriate
congressional action concerning Patriot Act reauthorization are:

* Preventing the FBI from "fishing" through private
purchase, medical, and
library records by requiring a statement of fact linking persons whose
records are sought to a terrorism investigation.
* Allowing businesses and libraries to pose a meaningful challenge
to a FISA
court order or a National Security Letter demanding customer records.
* Providing sufficient privacy safeguards and oversight in all
sections of
the USA PATRIOT Act involving the executive branch, including the
Department of Justice and the FBI, in light of warrant-less
wiretapping of
domestic email and phone communication authorized by the president.
* Protecting First Amendment rights by removing a proposed
provision that
would subject anyone who protests in cordoned-off areas at
presidential
appearances to prison sentences up to 10 years.
* Eliminating proposed new death penalties from the reauthorization
legislation.

Three specific items you can urge your congressional delegation to
press for are
1. Language in section 215 (the "business records" or
"library" provision) requiring a statement of fact linking
the person whose records are sought to a terrorism investigation;
2. Language allowing a section 215 recipient to file a meaningful
challenge to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court
order; and
3. Language allowing a section 505 recipient to pose a meaningful
challenge to a National Security Letter.

For further background information, see FCNL's web site:
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1509&issue_id=68
and
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1615&issue_id=68
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________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795
fcnl@fcnl.org * http://www.fcnl.org
phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
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We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored.

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