You mean 2005, don't you? If you're going to be contentious, the least you could do is get your facts right.
The 2005 applications were abnormally high because the Patriot Act was amended in 2005 and all existing authorizations had to be re-submitted.
The 2006, 07 and 08 years show an extremely low level of applications, with virtually all approved without modifications.
From 2009 forward, the number of applications has grown exponentially -- with only a fraction being approved each year.
From that trendline, surely you can divine when the act started to be abused. Indeed, we might suspect that some of the most egregious surveillance is being conducted without any authorization whatsoever.
Capice?
Sadly the Patriot Act from it’s inception was begging to be abused.