Congress has the opportunity to fix many of the things that are wrong with the Patriot Act, a voluminous assault on American civil liberties that was hastily signed into law soon after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, by lawmakers, many of whom had not read it.

As part of the debate on the bipartisan Security and Freedom Enhancement Act of 2005, Congress can take another shot at the Patriot Act. The most egregious elements of the Patriot Act, passed just 45 days after the country had been attacked, must be addressed.

First, the law allows so-called “sneak and peak” searches. Under this provision, homes and businesses can be searched and property seized without notice. The Patriot Act does not limit its application just to terrorism cases, allowing searches in other types of investigations as well. In other circumstances, such searches would amount to breaking and entering, and burglary. The law allows federal agents to go too far. At the very least, the use of “sneak and peak” searches should be limited to terrorism investigations with exact language on when they are allowed and how long they can remain secret. And serious consideration should be given to completely eliminating the practice.

Another element of the Patriot Act allows the government to gather personal information about U.S. citizens without any evidence linking them to a crime. The government is able to seize everything from a person’s library records to medical histories of individuals. It also opens up entire databases for search and seizure. For example, the feds could grab all the medical records from a hospital just to get information on one person. This part of the law also forbids any of the record holders from talking about the searches, effectively hiding potentially abusive searches from public knowledge. Tighter reins need to be drawn around such information sweeps, and greater care and respect needs to be paid to privacy rights.

Finally, the Patriot Act defines domestic terrorism too broadly. It’s possible that the definition could be used to target protesters, such as those outside of a family planning clinic, who use controversial techniques to make their political point.

The Patriot Act greatly expanded the power of the executive branch of government, short-circuiting many of the checks and balances provided Congress and the judiciary. Fighting domestic terrorism is a vital role for the federal government, but it does not require citizens to trade away significant civil liberties.

Congress should conduct a comprehensive review of the Patriot Act and reform or eliminate its most egregious elements.