Terrorism: Section by Section Analysis of the USA PATRIOT Act

Publication Date: December 2001

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act, P. L. 107-56, is part of the Congressional response to September 11. It is the merger of two similar bills. S.1510 passed the Senate on October 11, 147 Cong.Rec. S10604, and H.R.2975 passed the House on October 12 after substituting the language of H.R.3108 for its text, 147 Cong.Rec. H6775. Having informally resolved their differences, the House enacted the measure in final form on October 24, 147 Cong.Rec. H7282, and the Senate on October 25, 147 Cong.Rec. S11059.

The Act consists of ten titles which, among other things: give federal law enforcement and intelligence officers greater authority (at least temporarily) to gather and share evidence particularly with respect to wire and electronic communications; amend federal money laundering laws, particularly those involving overseas financial activities; create new federal crimes, increase the penalties for existing federal crimes, and adjust existing federal criminal procedure, particularly with respect to acts of terrorism; modify immigration law, increasing the ability of federal authorities to prevent foreign terrorists from entering the U.S., to detain foreign terrorist suspects, to deport foreign terrorists, and to mitigate the adverse immigration consequences for the foreign victims of September 11; and authorize appropriations to enhance the capacity of immigration, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies to more effectively respond to the threats of terrorism.

Several proposals, offered while the Act was under consideration, were not among the provisions ultimately enacted, e.g., revision of the McDade-Murtha Amendment (relating to the application of professional conduct standards to federal prosecutors), measures to combat illegal Internet gambling, and are thus beyond the scope of this report.