PATRIOT Act Overview —
Major Provisions and the Library Controversy
Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act in response to the terrorists’ attacks of September 11, 2001. The Act gives Federal officials greater authority to track and intercept communications, both for law enforcement and foreign intelligence-gathering purposes. It vests the Secretary of the Treasury with regulatory powers to combat corruption of U.S. financial institutions for foreign money laundering purposes. It seeks to further close our borders to foreign terrorists and to detain and remove those within our borders. It creates new crimes, new penalties, and new procedural efficiencies for use against domestic and international terrorists. Although it is not without safeguards,…
