The Patriot Act was bad in 2001, and despite bipartisan calls for reform, it's still bad in 2005.

The Patriot Act debate is whether FISA adequately protects civil liberties. The point of FISA was to interpose a judge between the president and the citizen to make sure they wouldn't gather data on someone unilaterally.

The Patriot Act debate has come a long way, but there is still more that needs to be done to protect the rights of ordinary Americans. It is clear that there is building skepticism about the administration's approach to national security and civil liberties, and the ACLU and its bipartisan allies will continue to speak out in defense of all Americans' fundamental civil liberties and constitutional rights.

Although the House Judiciary Committee's base bill does not expand the Patriot Act in the unwise and unwarranted way the Senate Intelligence Committee proposed, it can and must be modified to ensure that Patriot powers are focused on terrorists and not ordinary Americans,

It provides more protections and important clarifications than the other bills that are being considered. But all the bills fall short of what is necessary to bring the Patriot Act back in line with the Constitution.