Bush Signs USA PATRIOT Act, Expanding Domestic Surveillance and Terrorism Statutes

President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law 45 days after the September 11 attacks. The law expanded government authority to conduct surveillance without contemporaneous notice, broadened National Security Letter authority to obtain records without judicial approval, and expanded the material support statute (18 U.S.C. 2339B) to cover a wider range of support for designated foreign terrorist organizations. The Act passed the Senate 98-1 and the House 357-66, reflecting near-unanimous political consensus that terrorism warranted expanded executive powers. Critics including the ACLU warned that the law's broad definitions of material support would sweep in protected First Amendment activity.