Senator Carper Statement on the Extension of the PATRIOT Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement regarding his vote for S.990, the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011:  

“Preventing another terrorist attack on Americans is a top priority for me and my colleagues. Although the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks is dead, terrorism persists, and is perpetuated by those who continue to look for ways to cause harm to our nation and its citizens. While government works tirelessly to secure our homeland, it is imperative that in doing so, we also protect the civil liberties of all Americans to the best of our ability. Already, with the help of my Democratic colleagues, the Department of Justice has begun to implement a number of key privacy protections and oversight measures. Also, it’s important to note that Democrats fought to make sure that the authorities granted in this bill are not permanent so that we can continue oversight and determine whether further modifications to this law are necessary in the future.”  

“My expectation is that the Obama administration will continue to preserve civil liberties as much as possible and target only those suspected of wanting to harm Americans. Although this bill isn’t perfect, I am voting for it to make sure that the essential authorities contained in the PATRIOT Act do not expire and that federal officials have all the tools they need to track down and root out terrorists.”  

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