1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21203April 18, 2002The USA PATRIOT Act: A Sketchname redactedSenior SpecialistAmerican Law DivisionSummaryCongress passed the USA PATRIOT Act (the Act) in response to the terroristsa
2、ttacks of September 11, 2001. The Act gives federal officials greater authority to trackand intercept communications, both for law enforcement and foreign intelligencegathering purposes. It vests the Secretary of the Treasury with regulatory powers tocombat corruption of U.S. financial institutions
3、for foreign money laundering purposes.It seeks to further close our borders to foreign terrorists and to detain and remove thosewithin our borders. It creates new crimes, new penalties, and new proceduralefficiencies for use against domestic and international terrorists. Although it is notwithout sa
4、feguards, critics contend some of its provisions go too far. Although it grantsmany of the enhancements sought by the Department of Justice, others are concernedthat it does not go far enough.The Act originated as H.R.2975 (the PATRIOT Act) in the House and S.1510 inthe Senate (the USA Act). S.1510
