Statement of Senator Russ Feingold
On Opposition to Ending Debate on the Patriot Act
As Read From the Senate Floor
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March 1, 2006
When it comes to the conference report on the USA PATRIOT Act, the
die has now been cast. The Senate has voted to reconsider the vote against
cloture from last December and now has voted to limit debate on the
PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill. The rules of the Senate have changed
since the days of Jimmy Stewart and ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.''
One Senator, no matter how strongly he or she feels, cannot single-handedly
stop a bill when 60 or more of his or her colleagues are dead set on
passing it. So obviously at this point, final passage of the reauthorization
bill is now assured. I am disappointed in this result, obviously, but
I believe this fight has been worth making and my dedication to changing
the PATRIOT Act is as strong now as it has ever been.
We have made some progress since October 2001. The public understands
the issues better and many of my colleagues do, too. Support for changes
to the PATRIOT Act has grown over the years to the point where we actually
had no objection in the Senate last year passing a pretty good bill--this
was in July of 2005--a bill that made significant improvements to the
PATRIOT Act. Then near the end of the year, 46 Senators actually voted
to reject a conference report that took several steps backward from
that bill. Even a few days ago, I was heartened when the Senator from
Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the foremost
proponent of the conference report, actually announced he would essentially
take the four amendments I had hoped to offer, the amendments I was
denied the right to offer in the Senate, and combine them into a bill
he will now seek to move through the Judiciary Committee and enact into
law. His bill will have several cosponsors, including me. So even some
of the Senators who fought for this reauthorization bill, of course,
realize it falls short and will join the fight to try to fix the PATRIOT
Act. That is somewhat encouraging, and I thank them for their honesty.
I thank them for recognizing that the rights and freedoms of the American
people are worth fighting for in the Senate, just as we ask so many
of our young people to fight for them overseas.
The rules of the Senate provide that debate on this measure is now
limited after the vote on cloture we took. But debate is not yet closed.
I believe there is still more that needs to be said. In particular,
in the time I have remaining, I want to give voice to the millions of
Americans who have expressed concern about the PATRIOT Act and have
asked repeatedly for it to be changed. There has been an extraordinary
outpouring of public sentiment against this law, and that sentiment
deserves to be heard on the floor of the Senate. So in a few minutes
I am going to read some of the resolutions that have been passed and
editorials that have been written and letters that have been sent. In
these final hours before the PATRIOT Act is reauthorized, I want my
colleagues to hear the voices of the citizens of this country. These
voices cannot be stifled by votes taken here. They may have been ultimately
defeated by procedural maneuvers in this body over the past few weeks,
but their concerns for the liberties and freedoms are real, and they
are not going away. We ignore them at our peril.
Before I turn to those voices, I want to start with the basic principle.
Our Nation's strength comes not only from our mighty and our unmatched
military might but from our constitutional system and our reverence
for the rule of law. That is what has kept us free for over 2 1/4 quarter
centuries in our history as a nation. Millions of patriotic Americans
love this country and support our military men and women in their difficult
missions abroad but worry about the fate of our Constitution here at
home. Our constitutional freedoms, our American values are what make
our country worth fighting for as we strive to defeat the terrorists
who threaten us. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are documents
we often talk about and less often actually pick up and reread. In light
of their central importance to the debate about the PATRIOT Act, I thought
it would be worth reading them today.
The United States Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the
Constitution for the United States of America.
Article I
Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the
Electors in each State shall have Qualifications requisite for Electors
of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to
the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of
that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective
Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years.
Of course, this provision has been amended by the 14th amendment so
I will skip that part.
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the
first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty
Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and
until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall
be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania
eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
South Carolina five, and George three.
As per act of November 15, 1941, the apportionment, based on the Sixteenth
Census (1940), the Seventeenth Census (1950), and the Eighteenth Census
(1960), distribute the 435 seats in the House among the States according
to the method of equal proportions. (See Senate Manual section 974).
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive
Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representative shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers;
and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six
Years; and each Senators shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the First
Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes.
The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the
Expiration of the Second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration
of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the
sixth Year; so that one-third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year;
and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess
of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary
Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall
then fill such Vacancies.
No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age
of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States,
and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for
which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President
pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall
exercise the Office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When
sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When
the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall
preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of
two-thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office
of honor, Trust, or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment,
and Punishment, according to Law.
Section 1. The Time, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators
and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature
thereof; but the congress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such
Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall
by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections; Returns,
and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall
constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent
Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may
provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its
Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds,
expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time
to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House
on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present be
entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the
Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation
for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury
of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony
and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance
at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning
from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall
not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the
United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof
shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any
Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during
his Continuance in Office.
Section 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House
of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments
as on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and
the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President
of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he
shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall
have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal,
and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds
of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together
with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise
be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be
determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for
and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall
be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress
by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not
be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question
of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States;
and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or
being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate
and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations
prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes,
Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common
Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts
and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States,
and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on
the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and
fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and
current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas,
and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal and make Rules
concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that
Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the
Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and
for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of
the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment
of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according
to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such
District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government
of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places
purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the
Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards,
and other needful Buildings;--And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by
this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any
Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9. The Migration or Importation of Such Persons as any of
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight,
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding
ten dollars for each Person.
The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may
require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion
to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue
to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound
to, or from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in
another.
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations
made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and
Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office,
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation;
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit;
make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts;
pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the
Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts
or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties
and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the
Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be
subject to the Revision and Control of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage,
keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement
or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in
War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not
admit of delay.
Article II
Section 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of
four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same
Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators
and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:
but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust
or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot
for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of
the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the
Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President
of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The
Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if
such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed;
and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal
Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority,
then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like
Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes
shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having
one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members
from two-thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall
be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President,
the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall
be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have
equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice-President.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the
Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United
States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to
that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years,
and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
In case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the
said Office,- the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the
Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation
or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what
Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly,
until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a
Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during
the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any
of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the
following Oath or Affirmation:--``I do solemly swear (or affirm) that
I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States.''
Section 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States,
when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require
the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive
Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective
Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for
Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,
to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur;
and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls,
Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States,
whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which
shall be established by law; but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment
of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone,
in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen
during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall
expire at the End of their next Session.
Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information
of the State of the Union, and rec ommend to their Consideration such
Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary
Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement
between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn
them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors
and other public Ministers; he shall, take Care that the Laws be faithfully
executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of
the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for,
and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article III
Section 1. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested
in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may
from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme
and inferior Courts, shall hold their offices during good Behaviour,
and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation
which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
Section 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and
Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States,
and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to
all Cases affe cting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to
all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies
to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between
two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State;--between
Citizens of different States;--between Citizens of the same State claiming
Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the
Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls,
and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have
original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the
supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and
Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress
shall make.
The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be
by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes
shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State,
the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law
have directed.
Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in
levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them
Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the
Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in
open Court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason,
but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture
except during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article IV
Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.
And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such
Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges
and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime,
who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on
demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be
delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the
Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof,
escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation
therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall, be delivered
up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction
of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or
more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures
of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules
and Regulations respecting the Territory of other Property belonging
to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed
as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular
State.
Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to ever State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them
against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive
(when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article V
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses sh all deem it necessary,
shall propose Amendments to this Co nstitution, or, on the Application
of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call
a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall
be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution,
when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States,
or by Conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other
Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that
no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight
hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses
in the Ninth Section of the first Article, and that no State without
its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI
All Debts contr acted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption
of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be
made in Pursuance thereof, and all Treaties made, or which shall be
made, under Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law
of the Land, and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any
Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members
of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound
by Oath or Affirmation, to support this constitution; but no religious
Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public
Trust under the United States .
Article VII
The Ratificati o n of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient
for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying
the Same.
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present
the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United
States of America the Twelfth.
The Bill of Rights, amendments 1 through 10 of the Constitution.
The Conventions of a number of States; having at the time of their
adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction
or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses
should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in
the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution:
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring,
that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several
States, as Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all
or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said
Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the
said Constitution; viz.t.
Amendment [I]
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment [II]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment [III]
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without
the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
Amendment [IV]
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Mr. President, I am going to read that one again. It is the fourth
amendment. More than any other provision I am reading, this is the one
that is at the heart of the debate about this USA PATRIOT Act and its
provisions, and it is this provision that is particularly violated by
the imminent reauthorization of this law:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment [V]
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other wise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment, or indictment of a Grand Jury, except
in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when
in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person
be subject for the same offenses to be twice put in jeopardy of life
or limb; nor shall be compelled in, any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.
Amendment [VI]
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor,
and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment [VII]
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
fact tried by a jury, shall be other-wise reexamined in any Court of
the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment [VIII]
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment [IX]
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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