CIVIL LIBERTIES

Senator Sanders is a strong and consistent defender of our nation’s basic civil liberties.  He strongly and actively opposes recent moves to weaken our nation’s most important constitutional rights.  Senator Sanders believes we must do everything possible to prevent terrorist attacks and stop international terrorism but that this can and should be done without undermining the basic rights which make us a free country.
 
While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Sanders was one of only 66 members to vote against the USA Patriot Act.  He also introduced the first legislation in the House meant to undo some of the unconstitutional provisions in that bill. He earned him the American Library Association’s "Politician of the Year" Award in 2003 for his efforts to repeal Section 215 of the Patriot Act and his introduction of the "Freedom to Read Protection Act."  Section 215 of the Patriot Act, gave the government new sweeping power to review and monitor the book store purchases and library records of innocent Americans.  In the Senate, Sanders continues to focus on these and other important civil liberties issues to ensure that Americans’ constitutional rights are restored and protected.
 
Sanders has supported reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), but only if it does not include retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that allegedly cooperated with the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Since taking office in 2000, President Bush and his administration have launched a frontal attack on the privacy rights and civil liberties of Americans.  For example, the Bush administration has misused National Security Letters, which require banks, credit card companies, Internet service providers and others to turn over information about their customers to the federal government without court approval or oversight.  Sanders has also been an outspoken opponent of the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretap program, and the president’s repeated misuse of presidential signing statements to ignore the will of Congress and the American people.  Senator Sanders is working with his colleagues to rein in these sweeping powers and ensure that they are conducted according to the law and with proper congressional and judicial oversight.  Senator Sanders was also the first senator to announce his opposition to the nomination of Michael Mukasey, the Attorney General of the United States, our chief law enforcement officer who has said it is not clear whether the inhumane practice of waterboarding is considered torture.

American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont:
http://www.acluvt.org/

Center for Democracy and Technology:
http://www.cdt.org/
 
Campaign for Reader Privacy:
http://www.readerprivacy.org/   

Learn more about Senator Sanders’ efforts to protect our civil liberties :