Washington D.C. – Today a group of 28 organizations sent a letter to Senate leaders opposing S. 1357, legislation that would extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act through July 31, 2015. The letter was signed by a cross-section of groups that either endorse, oppose, or remain neutral on the USA FREEDOM Act.
“Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act is statutorily set to sunset on June 1, 2015. Congress established this sunset on May 26, 2011 in order to facilitate review of the statute and any programs purportedly authorized pursuant to the statute,” the groups write. “While June 1, 2015 is quickly approaching, the deadline is not a surprise. We urge you to oppose bringing up this measure for a vote, or to vote against any such measure that extends expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act in their current form.”
The letter, organized by Access, is also signed by American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), American Association of Law Libraries, American Booksellers for Free Expression, American Civil Liberties Union, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Center for Democracy and Technology, Center for National Security Studies, The Constitution Project, Competitive Enterprise Institute, The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Defending Dissent Foundation, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Free Press Action Fund, Government Accountability Project, Internet Archive, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Niskanen Center, OpenTheGovernment.org, R Street, Sunlight Foundation and Tech Freedom.