Patriot Act

aka U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001

The U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001 was enacted by Congress in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Also referred to as the Patriot Act, it was passed in the Senate by a vote of 98-1 and in the House of Representatives by 357-66. U.S.A. Patriot is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.”

In his remarks on signing the Patriot Act, President Bush called the act “an essential step in defeating terrorism, while protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens,” and said the act gives “intelligence and law enforcement officials important new tools to fight a present danger.” Generally speaking, the act is a complex statute covering a wide ...