The USA PATRIOT Act: Some unanswered questions

To secure the nation against future terrorist attacks after 9/11, the United States passed the USA PATRIOT Act (USAPA). A cursory inspection of the legislative history shows that the USAPA was "rushed" passed Congress by the Bush administration without following the usual legislative procedure, e.g. public hearings, mark up, floor debate, and conference report, in both chambers Throughout the entire USAPA legislative process, neither the Congress nor the Administration has systematically investigated, judiciously examined, openly debated, and comprehensively considered the relative utilities-necessity and efficacy, costs and benefits, and long term impact-on the Constitution, on the society, of the Act. It is the purpose of the article to raise questions and frame issues regarding the USA PATRIOT Act, thus the title: "The USAPA: Some unanswered questions." In the main, the article, investigated into four major issues: (1) Can the quick passage of the USAPA be explained? (2) Was the USAPA necessary? (3) How effective is the USAPA in fighting terrorism? (4) Lastly and most important, on the balance, is the USAPA worth the price? In so doing, the article hopes to contribute to the on going national dialogue on the problems and issues, performance and merits, impact and implications of the act. This article pointed to the need for systematic and comprehensive investigation into the reception, impact and implications of the USAPA on all aspects of American society. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.