As your constituent, I urge you to support the Security and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act of 2003 (S 1709/HR 3352). This legislation would defend true American values and help keep us safe and free. Under the PATRIOT Act, so-called "sneak and peek" search warrants are allowed. I believe these forms of searches are too intrusive of privacy rights and should not be authorized except in very rare cases. I understand that the SAFE Act would begin to fix this problem by limiting the use of these searches to three specific purposes. It would also ensure that the targets of such searches would be notified of their occurrence within seven days unless a court approves extensions.

I also do not believe that the government should be allowed to indiscriminately investigate personal records. I have read that the SAFE Act would amend the PATRIOT ACT to require "individualized suspicion" that records being sought in intelligence investigations are related to someone who is acting for a foreign government or terrorist organization. It also prohibits the government from embarking on fishing expeditions where they examine a large number of people's records without any reasonable suspicion in the hopes that they might find a potential terrorist.

Finally, I believe that the PATRIOT Act is an attack on fundamental American values and that it needs to be fixed. The Constitution and Bill of Rights emphasize the need for checks and balances on government agents and limits to their power. I understand that the PATRIOT Act rolled back key judicial oversight and gave law enforcement significant new powers that go beyond the war on terrorism. The SAFE Act would be an important step in bringing the PATRIOT Act back in line with American values.

Once again, I strongly urge you to support the SAFE Act (S 1709/HR 3352), which would correct the PATRIOT Act’s most infamous provisions.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this very important matter.