The passage of H.R. 3162 into law meant that in essence, the government could do whatever they want in order to "deter" terrorism. Any phone call can now be tapped under suspicion of acts that may harm America. Being able to prevent terroristic attacks is very important and should be one of America's top priorities, however, at what lengths will our government go to do so? So far there have not been any major terrorist attacks on America since the passing of this bill into law. Perhaps there might have been one or more if H.R. 3162 had not been passed, perhaps not. Because of this bill-turned-law, some people believe that they must live in fear of the government, but I do not think so. They may be watching and they may be listening, but they are also protecting.
This bill in particular is interesting because of how quickly it came up after the attacks on September 11, and that it was passed so quickly, with no amendments added.
It was introduced in the House, passed in the House, passed in the Senate, and signed by the president, all in four days. A majority of the process of going through all of the committees happened on the day it was introduced, which I find to be very interesting.
H.R. 3162 had a very easy path compared to a majority of other bills, which can take months or longer to either pass or fail. I believe the process in general is too complicated. There are ways of getting around or pushing off votes and I don't believe that should be allowed. Each day, Congress should deal with one bill, and not be allowed to leave session or move on to anything else without a decision being made on that particular bill.