If DC traffic levels are any indication, it seems that a lot more people are taking the spread of the coronavirus seriously, which is undoubtedly good. In the media and online, though, the debate rages on whether the overall government response to the virus has been dangerously insufficient or unjustifiably draconian. The opposite poles of public opinion seem to range between demanding a complete, absolute national shelter-in-place shutdown for potentially months and a blasé, “virus? what virus?” approach that equally beggars the imagination.

This week Congress has tackled two important issues that may not seem related at first: reauthorizing an expiring portion of the USA PATRIOT Act and legislating for those affected by COVID-19. But there is one common thread between them - each will have had their passage through the legislature amply lubricated by a potent dose of fear. Decisions made hastily under such pressure are often nigh impossible to reverse after the fact.

Three provisions of the Foreign International Surveillance Act (FISA) will expire on Sunday. The expiration of these provisions isn’t a surprise, but Congress has treated it as such because of its proclivity for governing by crisis. Another issue that has reverberated in the debate over the reauthorization of these provisions is the attempt by congressional leadership to shut out the voices of privacy hawks in Congress.

John Solomon in Just the News and Sara Carter in SaraACarter.com have independently concluded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) knew that there was no improper collusion between Trump or his aides with Russia. Through extensive requests for documents created by the FBI and DOJ it is virtually certain that these organizations knew there was no collusion shortly after Trump’s inauguration in early 2017. Thus, all the congressional investigations and the Mueller investigation were most likely attempts by government agents and their political allies to cover-up wrongful spying and unmasking for political advantages in the 2016 election. This is one of the worst deliberate assaults on our Constitution and We the People in American history.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and senators and ask them to support and cosponsor the Safeguarding Americans’ Private Records Act, H.R. 5675 and S. 3242. Introduced in the Senate by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and in the House by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), this legislation would reform Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and other aspects of surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act (FISA) in order to protect Americans’ civil liberties and rights to due process and to increase transparency and oversight.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to oppose the Protecting Against International Terrorism Act, S. 2939. Introduced by Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), this bill would reauthorize Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and the “roving wiretap” and “lone wolf” provisions under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that are each currently set to expire on March 15, 2020. The bill would renew these surveillance authorities through December 15, 2027 while largely ignoring the constitutional issues raised by how they have been used.