Wheaton to host public debate on the USA Patriot Act

Co-author of the U.S.A. Patriot Act Viet Dinh and Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass) will debate the merits of the controversial 2001 law known as the Patriot Act in a public discussion to take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Hindle Auditorium of the Science Center on Monday, Feb. 28. The event is free and open to all.

Dinh served as the U.S. assistant attorney general for legal policy from 2001 to 2003, and was the highest ranking Vietnamese American official in the Bush Administration. As the official responsible for developing federal legal policy, Dinh contributed to a number of policies, including eliminating racial profiling in federal law enforcement and reforming civil and criminal justice procedures. After Sept. 11, Dinh conducted a comprehensive review of Department of Justice priorities, policies and practices to ensure that all available resources were dedicated to protecting America against terrorist acts. He played a key role in
developing the U.S.A. Patriot Act and revising the Attorney General's Guidelines, which govern federal law enforcement activities and national security investigations. Currently, Dinh is a professor of law and deputy director of Asian Law and Policy Studies at the Georgetown University Law Center.

A refugee from Vietnam, Dinh came to the United States when he was 10 years old in 1978. He attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School, and graduated magna cum laude from both. He was a law clerk to Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He served as associate special counsel to the U.S. Senate Whitewater Committee, as special counsel to Senator Pete V. Domenici for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

Congressman Frank has represented the fourth district of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives since 1980. In 1962 Frank graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and in 1977 he graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School. Prior to entering Congress, he served in state and local government, including eight years as a Massachusetts state representative, and three years as chief assistant to former Mayor Kevin White of Boston. He has also taught at several Boston area universities.

In Congress, Frank is the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation relating to banking, housing, insurance, the securities industry, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and the Federal Reserve. During his tenure in Congress, Frank has worked to diminish economic inequality, advocate for human rights and reform U.S. immigration law. Frank is known for his outspoken views on a number of controversial issues, including the war in Iraq and gay marriage.

This event is sponsored by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation that is dedicated to supporting relationships between the Wheaton classroom and surrounding communities. The Hewlett was awarded to Wheaton as part of a three-year, $150,000 grant to support the development of courses with connections to local communities.