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.
