USA PATRIOT Act, Title I 3001930 213780414 2008-05-20T20:18:30Z Neutrality 68411 {{USA Patriot Act titles}} '''Title I: Enhancing Domestic Security against Terrorism''' is the first of ten titles which comprise the [[USA PATRIOT Act]], an anti-[[terrorism]] bill passed in the [[United States]] after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]. Title I contains six sections, which, in turn, establish a fund for counterterrorist actions, condemn discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans, increase funding for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI']]s Technical Support Center, allow for military assistance in some situations involving [[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] when requested by the [[United States Attorney General]], expanded the National Electronic Crime Task Force, and expanded the [[President of the United States|President's]] authority and abilities in case of terrorism. ==Counterterrorism fund== Section 101 established a separate and unlimited fund, entitled the "Counterterrorism Fund," within the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]]. This fund is to be used to reimburse the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] for costs required to rebuild an office or facility damaged by terrorism, support counterterrorism efforts (including the paying of rewards), and to pay for terrorism threat assessments. It contains an additional provision to reimburse any U.S. department or agency of all costs related to the detention of individuals in foreign countries who are accused of acts of terrorism. ==Condemnation of discrimination== Section 102 was a general statement which confirmed that [[Arab American]]s, [[Islam in the United States|Muslim Americans]], and Americans from [[South Asia]] play a vital role in the United States, and are as equally entitled to full civil rights as any other American. This section further condemned acts of violence against these people that have occurred since the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], and stated that the responsibility for the September 11 attack lay solely with the individuals who perpetrated them. It also found that "Muslim Americans have become so fearful of harassment that many Muslim women are changing the way they dress to avoid becoming targets" and that "many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans have acted heroically during the attacks on the United States." The Act specifically mentioned [[Mohammed Salman Hamdani]], a 23-year-old [[New York|New Yorker]] of [[Pakistan]]i descent, which the Act states was believed to have gone to the [[World Trade Center]] to offer rescue assistance and was believed to have been killed. This section also reasserted that: # the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans, including Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and Americans from South Asia, must be protected, and that every effort must be taken to preserve their safety # any acts of violence or discrimination against any Americans must be condemned; and # the United States is called upon to recognize the patriotism of fellow citizens from all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. ==FBI Technical Support Center funding== Section 103 increased funding for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI's]] Technical Support Center to $US200,000,000 for fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004. ==Requests for military assistance== Section 104 amended title 18 of the [[United States Code]] to allow the [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] to request assistance from the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] when [[weapons of mass destruction]] are used unlawfully within the United States, or are unlawfully used outside the country by U.S. citizens. [[Chemical warfare|Chemical weapons]] are specifically excluded from the definition of [[Weapons of Mass Destruction]] in this section. <ref>{{usc|18|2332e}}</ref> ==Expansion of the NECTF== Section 105 charged the Director of the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] with developing a national network of electronic crime task forces, based on [[New York|New York's]] [[Electronic Crimes Task Force]] model. This network, also known as the National Electronic Crime Task Force (NECTF) is responsible for "preventing, detecting, and investigating electronic crime, including potential terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure and financial payment systems". ==Presidential authority== Section 106 clarified the [[President of the United States|President's]] authority to investigate, regulate, or prohibit any financial transactions that fall within the jurisdiction of the U.S. This section also authorized the President to confiscate assets belonging to any "foreign person, foreign organization, or foreign country" who the President found had participated in an attack on the United States. Finally, this section ordered that if action under this section is based on classified information, that information may be presented to the reviewing judicial authority ''[[ex parte]]'' and ''[[in camera]]'' &mdash; that is, outside the presence (and possibly without the knowledge) of the accused or his attorney. == Notes and references == <references /> ==External links== {{wikisource|USA PATRIOT Act/Title I}} * [http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.pdf USA PATRIOT Act, H. R. 3162] pp7-13 ([[Portable Document Format|.pdf]] file). * [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00001702----000-.html International Emergency Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702)] * [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002332---e000-.html United States Code Title 18, section 2332e] *[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:HR03162:@@@D&summ2=m& Congressional Research Service summary] [[Category:USA PATRIOT Act|Title I]]