6.3 The USA Patriot Act of 2001

Public Law 107-56, formally titled the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 ( USA Patriot Act ) was enacted on October 26, 2001. A result of the terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001, carried out by members of Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization, this legislation made broad and sweeping changes that created a federal antiterrorism fund and directed law enforcement, military, and various government agencies to collectively develop a national network of electronic crime task forces throughout the United States. These task forces were designed to prevent, detect, and investigate various forms of electronic crimes, including potential terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure and financial payment systems.

Title II of this bill amends the federal criminal code to authorize the interception of wire, oral, and electronic communications to produce evidence of (1) specified chemical weapons or terrorism offenses and (2) computer fraud and abuse. This section of the law authorizes law enforcement and government personnel who have obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication or evidence derived therefrom, by authorized means, to disclose contents to such officials to the extent that such contents include foreign intelligence or counterintelligence.

Title III of this law amends existing federal law governing monetary transactions. The amended document prescribes procedural guidelines under which the Secretary of the Treasury may require domestic financial institutions and agencies to take specified measures if there are reasonable grounds for concluding that jurisdictions, financial institutions, types of accounts, or transactions operating outside or within the United States are part of a primary money-laundering concern. The intent of this section is to prevent terroristic concerns from using money-laundering techniques to fund operations that are destructive to national interests.

Title IV is targeted at tightening the control of our borders and immigration laws. In addition to waiving certain restrictions and personnel caps, it directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to develop a technology standard to identify visa and admissions applicants . This standard is meant to be the basis for an electronic system of law enforcement and intelligence sharing that will be made available to consular, law enforcement, intelligence, and federal border inspection personnel. Among the many provisions of Immigration Naturalization Service (INS) changes, this section of the law includes within the definition of "terrorist activity" the use of any weapon or dangerous device. The law redefines the phrase "engage in terrorist activity" to mean, in an individual capacity or as a member of an organization, to

Commit or to incite to commit, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily injury , a terrorist activity;
Prepare or plan a terrorist activity;
Gather information on potential targets for terrorist activity;
Solicit funds or other things of value for a terrorist activity or a terrorist organization (with an exception for lack of knowledge);
Solicit any individual to engage in prohibited conduct or for terrorist organization membership (with an exception for lack of knowledge); or
Commit an act that the actor knows, or reasonably should know, affords material support, including a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, transfer of funds or other material financial benefit, false documentation or identification, weapons (including chemical, biological, or radiological weapons), explosives, or training for the commission of a terrorist activity; to any individual who the actor knows or reasonably should know has committed or plans to commit a terrorist activity; or to a terrorist organization (with an exception for lack of knowledge).

Title IV of this law also defines "terrorist organization" as a group

Designated under the Immigration and Nationality Act or by the Secretary of State; or
A group of two or more individuals, whether related or not, which engages in terrorist- related activities.

It also provides for the retroactive application of amendments under this act and stipulates that an alien shall not be considered inadmissible or deportable because of a relationship to an organization that was not designated as a terrorist organization before enactment of this act. A provision is included to account for situations when the Secretary of State may have identified an organization as a threat and has deemed it necessary to formally designate that organization as a "terroristic organization." This law directs the Secretary of State to notify specified congressional leaders seven days before formally making such a designation.

Title V, "Removing Obstacles to Investigating Terrorism," authorizes the Attorney General to pay rewards from available funds pursuant to public advertisements for assistance to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat terrorism and defend the nation against terrorist acts, in accordance with procedures and regulations established or issued by the Attorney General, subject to specified conditions, including a prohibition against any such reward of $250,000 or more from being made or offered without the personal approval of either the Attorney General or the President.

Title VII, "Increased Information Sharing for Critical Infrastructure Protection," amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend Bureau of Justice Assistance regional information-sharing system grants to systems that enhance the investigation and prosecution abilities of participating federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in addressing multijurisdictional terrorist conspiracies and activities. It also revised the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 with provisions regarding the allocation of funds for compensation and assistance, location of compensable crime, and the relationship of crime victim compensation to meanstested federal benefit programs and to the September 11th victim compensation fund. It established an antiterrorism emergency reserve in the Victims of Crime Fund.

Title VIII, "Strengthening the Criminal Laws Against Terrorism," amends the federal criminal code to prohibit specific terrorist acts or otherwise destructive, disruptive, or violent acts against mass transportation vehicles, ferries, providers, employees , passengers, or operating systems. It amends the federal criminal code to:

Revise the definition of "international terrorism" to include activities that appear to be intended to affect the conduct of government by mass destruction; and
Define "domestic terrorism" as activities that occur primarily within U.S. jurisdiction, that involve criminal acts dangerous to human life, and that appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence government policy by intimidation or coercion, or to affect government conduct by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnaping.

The specific issue of information sharing that came up in many discussions of the "talking heads" around the Washington, D.C. area after the September 11th attack is addressed in Title IX, "Improved Intelligence." Herein, amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 require the Director of Central Intelligence to establish requirements and priorities for foreign intelligence collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and to provide assistance to the Attorney General to ensure that information derived from electronic surveillance or physical searches is disseminated for efficient and effective foreign intelligence purposes. It also requires the inclusion of international terrorist activities within the scope of foreign intelligence under such act.

Part of this section expresses the sense of Congress that officers and employees of the intelligence community should establish and maintain intelligence relationships to acquire information on terrorists and terrorist organizations. The law requires the Attorney General or the head of any other federal department or agency with law enforcement responsibilities to expeditiously disclose to the Director of Central Intelligence any foreign intelligence acquired in the course of a criminal investigation.

By now, it should be abundantly clear that the 107th U.S. Congress viewed the threat of terroristic activities as a huge security concern. Steps taken to close loopholes in money transaction processes, immigration and border control changes, and the hundreds of other specifics found in Public Law 107-56 reflect the determination of a nation victimized by terrorism to prevent recurrences using any means necessary and available. Citizens of the United States rallied around a cause as they have few other times in history, and the will of the people was reflected in these congressional actions.