George W. Bush's position on

Patriot Act: On October 26th, 2001, Congress passed the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001." The bill's subhead or intent was: "To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes." Electronic Privacy Information Center

Description of candidate's position: Bush is in full support of the Patriot Act, crediting the bill's provisions on decreased privacy for suspected criminals as helping to combat terrorism. In April, he appealed to Congress for increased measures to the Act and encouraged the members to not let it expire, which it will do next year unless action is taken otherwise (excerpt from speech below). Bush in May scolded John Kerry for not wanting to deter terrorism when Kerry frowned upon the loss of civil liberties under the law. And in September, Attorney General John Ashcroft praised Bush's position and asserted that civil liberties were not being taken away from Americans. CNN

Quotation from the candidate: "The Patriot Act needs to be renewed and the Patriot Act needs to be enhanced. That's what we're talking about…You see, I try to pick the best I can at the federal government and say, here's our mission-our mission is to protect our country. I say that to the Defense Department-our mission is to protect the country…After 9/11, I said to the Justice Department and the FBI, your job, your primary focus now is to prevent attack. Listen, I still want you chasing down the criminals; that's what's expected of you. But there's a new mind-set, and that is, because of what happened on 9/11, we've got to change the way we think, and therefore, your job now is to prevent attack." April 20, 2004, from the Bush re-election campaign website

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The Heritage Foundation-a conservative think tank that stands for "free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense"-believes the Patriot Act was "absolutely vital to protect America's security" and says there have been no abuses of civil liberties since it was enacted.

Negative: The Cato Institute-a libertarian think tank that believes in promoting "limited government, individual liberties, free markets, and peace "denounces the Patriot Act, saying its provisions allow for reduced privacy and increased security, and believe Bush wants the US to become a "surveillance state."

Comparison: As a senator, Kerry voted for the Patriot Act, as did most of Congress. But faced with evidence that the new law would take away the rights of some citizens, Kerry, along with 14 co-sponsoring Democrats and four Republicans, are attempting to amend the Patriot Act in a bill titled the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act" (SAFE Act). This bill keeps many of the intel-sharing components that help the CIA and FBI interact while adding "checks and safeguards" and "judicial modification" to the areas of civil liberty concern.

Link to Kerry's issue brief