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Hastert Raises Doubts on Surveillance
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Alpha-Omega
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Jul 30, 2003 16:48 PDT
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Hastert Raises Doubts on Surveillance
January 26, 2003 03:57 AM EST
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert raised doubts Friday about the
fate of a Pentagon surveillance project after the Senate voted to ban
the technology that mines government and commercial databases to
identify potential terrorists.
Hastert, R-Ill., is concerned about the privacy implications of the
research program, called Total Information Awareness, Hastert spokesman
Pete Jeffries said. He said it remains unclear who will fight for the
project when House and Senate lawmakers meet next month to decide its
future.
"Its fate is questionable," Jeffries said.
The Pentagon was building a system that could scour government and
commercial information - including purchase records - to detect clues of
terrorism.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Don Sewell, a Pentagon spokesman, said the program "will
develop innovative information technology tools that will give the
Department of Defense's intelligence, counterintelligence and
counterterrorism communities important capabilities to prevent terrorist
attacks."
The project, launched after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been a
public-relations disaster for the Bush administration, which has
bristled at concerns by critics that it intends to snoop into the
private lives of citizens.
The project's future was in doubt after the Senate approved an amendment
Thursday to require a detailed report by the Bush administration on the
program's goals and how it would be used.
The Senate amendment, sponsored by Ron Wyden, D-Ore., passed on a voice
vote and was attached to a $380 billion omnibus spending bill.
In a statement, Wyden echoed concerns by privacy advocates that the
Pentagon's research program was "the most far-reaching government
surveillance plan in history."
Under the legislation, the government would have to stop research and
development on the program unless the Defense Department submits to
Congress a detailed report within 60 days of enactment of the bill. The
amendment also restricts use of the technology inside the United States
without specific approval by Congress.
President Bush could order the research to go forward if he determines
it is necessary for national security. The amendment's limits on the
program would not affect its use on foreigners.
Wyden said the amendment guarantees "there will be checks on the
government's ability to snoop on law-abiding Americans."
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who introduced a separate bill to place a
moratorium on similar "data-mining" research, said these surveillance
systems were "a dangerous step that threatens one of the values we are
fighting for - freedom."
Privacy groups praised the surprise passage of the amendment.
"It reflects the serious concerns in Congress about being kept in the
dark about an extremely invasive program," said David Sobel, a lawyer
for the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The amendment must be resolved with the House version of the spending
bill, which did not impose any restrictions on the research program.
Lawmakers said that a conference committee, probably composed of members
of appropriations panels, will meet in early to mid-February.
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Copyright © 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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