Feb. 23, 2011
Some have inquired as to why I voted to renew the Patriot Act provisions that came up for several votes in Congress these past two weeks. You deserve to know and understand why I voted as I did.The Patriot Act was originally passed in 2001. In response to constitutional concerns, significant privacy protecting amendments were added in 2005. Even with these changes, I still have concerns, particularly with the National Security Letters (NSLs) provision. However, NSLs were not part of the legislation we considered earlier this month.The Democrat-led 111th Congress issued a one year extension through Feb. 2011 of three provisions of the Patriot Act that were set to expire, and promised to hold hearings on the entire act before that year was up. They did not fulfill this promise. The newly seated Republican-led 112th Congress was thus placed in an awkward situation.The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (of which I am a member) pointed out the three items in question were due to expire with less than 10 legislative days on the calendar, making hearings and a markup (official meeting to offer amendments) to the bill impossible. The hearing and markup process is a critical tool for us to evaluate and perfect the language of a bill. The Chairman asked for a short, temporary extension to give us time to schedule a hearing and a markup.It seemed reasonable to me to allow for a short extension during which time we could propose alterations. If the promised hearings and markup do not happen in that time, or if the adjustments don't address my concerns, then I will not hesitate to vote no.The bill we considered earlier this month was not an extension of the full Patriot Act. It was a one-and-a-half page bill extending the expiration date of just three provisions. That extension was ultimately reduced to 90 days, which seems sufficient to allow time for hearings and a markup.I recognize some have asked me to simply vote against the bill, regardless of what it says. However, a short extension allows us time to evaluate, amend, improve, and potentially replace all provisions of the Patriot Act, not just the three provisions at issue here.I did read the bill and I feel confident that a temporary extension was the right thing to do. If you have concerns, I would invite you to read the bill and highlight any specific provisions that alarm you. I have at least three specific concerns, and look forward to incorporating your concerns with mine as I draft amendments during the hearing and markup process. More on that later.I take the Fourth Amendment seriously and I hope you know I will continue to fight for limited government. Certainly nobody has done more to fight back against the TSA, etc.I hope this helps you understand why I voted the way I did on this particular vote. Thank you,Rep. Jason Chaffetz
All official press releases from Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
