Tester introduces Justice Act

Senator Jon Tester marked Thursday – Constitution Day – by announcing new legislation to overhaul the controversial Patriot Act.

Tester has long opposed the Patriot Act. He says it invades privacy and violates the Constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.

On Thursday, Tester and several of his colleagues introduced the "Justice Act."

He says the bill will protect Constitutional rights while allowing law enforcement agents to fight terrorism.

Tester said, "Like a lot of Montanans, I have serious concerns about the Patriot Act and how it was implemented. What this bill will do is add common sense so we can fight terrorism without ignoring the Constitution and without invading the privacy of law-abiding Americans."

The Justice Act makes several major changes. They include adding safeguards to make sure national security searches are only used to get records of people believed to have some connection to terrorism.

It also requires agents to identify a specific target before conducing roving wiretaps.