Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act

Patriot Act

Other short titles	Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001
Long title	An Act to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	USA PATRIOT Act
Nicknames	Patriot Act
Enacted by	the 107th United States Congress
Effective	October 26, 2001
Citations
Public law	107-56
Statutes at Large	115 Stat. 272 (2001)
Codification
Acts amended	Electronic Communications Privacy Act Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Money Laundering Control Act Bank Secrecy Act Right to Financial Privacy Act Fair Credit Reporting Act Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 Victims of Crime Act of 1984 Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act
Titles amended	8, 12, 15, 18, 20, 31, 42, 47, 49, 50
U.S.C. sections created	18 USC § 2712, 31 USC § 5318A, 15 USC § 1681v, 8 USC § 1226A, 18 USC § 1993, 18 USC § 2339, 18 USC § 175b, 50 USC § 403-5b, 51 USC § 5103a
U.S.C. sections amended	8 USC § 1105, 8 USC § 1182g, 8 USC § 1189, 8 USC § 1202, 12 USC 12 USC § 1828, 12 USC § 3414, 15 USC § 1681a, 15 USC § 6102, 15 USC § 6106, 18 USC § 7, 18 USC § 81, 18 USC § 175, 18 USC § 470, 18 USC § 471, 18 USC § 472, 18 USC § 473, 18 USC § 474, 18 USC § 476, 18 USC § 477, 18 USC § 478, 18 USC § 479, 18 USC § 480, 18 USC § 481, 18 USC § 484, 18 USC § 493, 18 USC § 917, 18 USC § 930, 18 USC § 981, 18 USC § 1029, 18 USC § 1030, 18 USC § 1362, 18 USC § 1363, 18 USC § 1366, 18 USC § 1956, 18 USC § 1960, 18 USC § 1961, 18 USC § 1992, 18 USC § 2155, 18 USC § 2325, 18 USC § 2331, 18 USC § 2332e, 18 USC § 2339A, 18 USC § 2339B, 18 USC § 2340A, 18 USC § 2510, 18 USC § 2511, 18 USC § 2516, 18 USC § 2517, 18 USC § 2520, 18 USC § 2702, 18 USC § 2703, 18 USC § 2707, 18 USC § 2709, 18 USC § 2711, 18 USC § 3056, 18 USC § 3077, 18 USC § 3103, 18 USC § 3121, 18 USC § 3123, 18 USC § 3124, 18 USC § 3127, 18 USC § 3286, 18 USC § 3583, 20 USC § 1232g, 20 USC § 9007, 31 USC § 310 (redesignated), 31 USC § 5311, 31 USC § 5312, 31 USC § 5317, 31 USC § 5318, 31 USC § 5319, 31 USC § 5321, 31 USC § 5322, 31 USC § 5324, 31 USC § 5330, 31 USC § 5331, 31 USC § 5332, 31 USC § 5341, 42 USC § 2284, 42 USC § 2284, 42 USC § 3796, 42 USC § 3796h, 42 USC § 10601, 42 USC § 10602, 42 USC § 10603, 42 USC § 10603b, 42 USC § 14601, 42 USC § 14135A, 47 USC § 551, 49 USC § 31305, 49 USC § 46504, 49 USC § 46505, 49 USC § 60123, 50 USC § 403-3c, 50 USC § 401a, 50 USC § 1702, 50 USC § 1801, 50 USC § 1803, 50 USC § 1804, 50 USC § 1805, 50 USC § 1806, 50 USC § 1823, 50 USC § 1824, 50 USC § 1842, 50 USC § 1861, 50 USC § 1862, 50 USC § 1863
Legislative history
Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 3162 by Frank J. Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R–WI) on October 23, 2001 Committee consideration by United States House Committee on the Judiciary; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Committee on Financial Services; Committee on International Relations; Committee on Energy and Commerce (Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet); Committee on Education and the Workforce; Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; Committee on Armed Services Passed the House on October 24, 2001 (Yeas: 357; Nays: 66) Passed the Senate on October 25, 2001 (Yeas: 98; Nays: 1) Signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001
Major amendments
USA Freedom Act

The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. With its ten-letter abbreviation (USA PATRIOT) expanded, the full title is "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001". The abbreviation, as well as the full title, have been attributed to Chris Cylke, a former staffer on the House Judiciary Committee.

From broad concern felt among Americans from both the September 11 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks, Congress rushed to pass legislation to strengthen security controls. On October 23, 2001, Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 3162 incorporating provisions from a previously sponsored House bill and a Senate bill also introduced earlier in the month. The next day, the Act passed the House 357 to 66, with Democrats comprising the overwhelming portion of dissent. The three Republicans voting 'no' were Robert Ney of Ohio, Butch Otter of Idaho and Ron Paul of Texas. On October 25, the Act passed the Senate by 98 to 1, the only dissident being Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

Opponents of the law have criticized its authorization of indefinite detentions of immigrants; the permission given law enforcement officers to search a home or business without the owner's or the occupant's consent or knowledge; the expanded use of National Security Letters, which allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search telephone, e-mail, and financial records without a court order; and the expanded access of law enforcement agencies to business records, including library and financial records. Since its passage, several legal challenges have been brought against the act, and federal courts have ruled that a number of provisions are unconstitutional.

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Wikipedia