ROBERT SCARDAPANE, Published in The Courier-News on June 23, 2005

On June 11, the House Judiciary Committee convened an open hearing on renewing the Patriot Act. After the panel gave testimony, the committee chairman, James Sesenbrenner, R-Wis., had a temper tantrum. He adjourned the meeting and walked out despite other committee members calling for a point of order. Most of the committee and panel continued the discussion without him.

This is an outrageous attempt to silence debate on an important issue. American civil liberties are at stake. The renewal of this act must be openly debated, and all testimony should be considered even when the chairman disagrees. The committee must determine if the Patriot Act has led to civil liberty violations and indeed should institute a regular bipartisan review process.