| Homeland Security Act |
Article Index for Homeland Security |
Website Links For Homeland Security |
Information AboutHomeland Security Act |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HOMELAND SECURITY ACT | |
| united states department of homeland security | |
| 2002 in law | |
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The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002 , introduced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 Attacks , created the Department Of Homeland Security in the largest government reorganization in 50 years, since the Department Of Defense was created. The HSA is a sweeping anti-terrorism bill giving federal law enforcement agencies broad powers to monitor citizens. The new department created by the 2-page Homeland Security Act assumed a number of government functions previously conducted in other departments. It superseded, but did not replace the Office of Homeland Security, which retained an advisory role. CIVIL LIBERTIES CONCERNS Civil Liberties imperiled by the Homeland Security Act include some constitutional rights, namely: the rights to freedom of speech, religion, assembly and privacy; the rights to counsel and due process; and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. Already galvanized by the hasty passage of the earlier USA PATRIOT Act , eighteen cities and towns declared themselves 'civil liberties safe zones' within months after HSA's passage, according to a 2002 ''Village Voice'' column. {Link without Title} Concerns about curtailment of civil liberties by the HSA were given a heightened sense of urgency by media revelations in 2002, about another Bush Administration initiative, which created a new Pentagon agency under the direction of John Poindexter , known as the Office Of Total Information Awareness . ELI LILLY RIDER TO HSA Political analysts and the parents of autistic children were baffled when it was learned, shortly after the passage of the HSA, that a rider to the bill had been added just prior to passage, that would shield . Senate Bill 3, currently under consideration as of June, 2005 , may restore elements of the rider. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS Official U.S. Government
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