Homeland Security officials back Patriot Act reauthorization
Department chief says the 2001 law supports operations by ICE, CBP and the Secret Service.
The Homeland Security Department threw its weight behind reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act Wednesday, saying agency operations will be hurt without key provisions of the law.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff joined Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for a press conference marking a final attempt to urge senators to reauthorize 16 key provisions of the 2001 law, which is set to expire at the end of the year.
"If we don't get that work done ... we're going to wake up on Jan. 1, and we will have left some of the most important weapons against terror in the cupboard, unavailable to be used by our front-line defenders," said Chertoff, who helped write the Patriot Act after the Sept. 11 attacks. He was the head of the Justice Department's criminal division at the time.
"I don't question anybody's patriotism, but I do think you've got to stand back and use some common sense and recognize that what we're asking for here is adapting proven tools that have been used responsibly for decades," Chertoff said.
The Senate voted Wednesday night for a six-month extension of the Patriot Act. The House has already voted to reauthorize the act's provisions, but now must take up the Senate legislation.
DHS also circulated a statement Wednesday outlining how the bureaus of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, and the Secret Service benefit from the Patriot Act.
"As a result [of] Patriot Act authorities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched an investigative strategy to target the underlying financial systems that terrorist and other criminal organizations may exploit in raising, moving and storing illicit funds," the statement noted. "For example, new anti-money laundering provisions of the Patriot Act have allowed ICE to launch an unprecedented effort to combat the laundering of funds originating from foreign public corruption, bribery or embezzlement."
Information-sharing provisions in the 2001 law help CBP officers screen international visitors and determine whether an apprehended alien presents a threat to security or public safety, according to the statement.
"The Patriot Act also enhances DHS investigations into the international movement of illicit funds through money transmittal businesses, bulk cash smuggling and cybercrimes," the department added. "The United States Secret Service, for example, has established 15 nationwide electronic crimes task forces and 10 working groups to detect and stop computer-based crime."