USA PATRIOT Act 5-Week Extension
Kucinich gave the following speech in Congress on February 1, 2006:
Speaking in opposition to H.R. 4659, a 5-week extension of the USA PATRIOT Act, Congressman Kucinich said:
"Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation, because it should become crystal clear that the administration is currently and will continue to abuse, attack and outright deny the civil liberties of American citizens in defiance of our Constitution. This administration is illegally wiretapping American citizens, illegally collecting information on peace groups and illegally using signing statements to ignore the torture ban recently enacted by the Congress. The administration is violating the laws Congress has passed, and they are violating the U.S. Constitution.
"I will not vote to give this administration any police powers until I am assured that their attack on our democracy is reined in. This Congress is walking away from the checks and balances of our democracy.
"I do not believe that this Congress was zealous in oversight investigation prior to 2001. I am not a partisan. I have joined my colleagues in an oversight role prior to 2001. However, since that time we have ignored our constitutional duty, and 200 years of American democracy has suffered. The complacency of Congress is clearly viewed by the administration as a license to ignore the laws it disagrees with and demand Congress pass extended police powers.
"I reject this complacency in defense of the United States Constitution. I will not vote to give a single new police power to this administration. The bill before us today enables the FBI to investigate any American for any reason, without the checks and balances of a judicial system. History tells us that unchecked police powers with little or no oversight will be abused, and citizens will be harmed.
"The administration's record in this area is concrete proof that history repeats itself. I am for a strong police function that protects citizens of this great Nation, not a police function which nullifies our constitutional rights."
[Ed. note: H.R. 4659 passed the House by voice vote on February 1; the Senate passed it the next day.]
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