FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 2, 2005
CONTACT: Jesse R. Benton 202-246-6363(mobile)
Progress made on Intel Authorization, but more work to be done
Amendments to Bill a positive step, but further improvement needed to protect privacy
WASHINGTON, DC - The Liberty Coalition, a trans-partisan public policy group dedicated to supporting and protecting civil liberties and human rights, welcomed a compromise by Senator Ron Wyden (D-WA) to amend the 2006 Intelligence Authorization Bill (S 1803), but warned that the amended provision in question should be completely removed. At issue is a major extension of the military’s surveillance power over Americans citizens which has not been addressed in Senate hearings.
“Any time the government asks for substantial new power to track and record the personal information of the American people, there must be, at the very least, open debate and honest public hearings,” said Liberty Coalition National Director Michael Ostrolenk. “Recent amendments have removed and improved two of the most alarming provisions of the Intelligence Authorization Bill, but further bipartisan action is needed to ensure the privacy of American citizens is protected.”
Senator Wyden’s amendment removed Section 431, which would have allowed Defense intelligence operatives to gather human intelligence inside the United States, going undercover to collect data and recruit potential spies without identifying themselves as Pentagon agents. The Defense Department (DoD) itself has reported that before the Privacy Act was passed thirty years ago, its intelligence agencies engaged in “monitoring of activities of innocent persons involved in the constitutionally protected expression of their views on civil rights or anti-war activities.”
The amendment also addresses a second problematic provision of S 1803, Section 307, which would amend the Privacy Act to allow both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Defense Department to access sensitive personal information on Americans collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other government agencies. The amended version of section 307 installs some basic safeguards and soft limitations, but The Liberty Coalition strongly believes that further action is needed. It may be beneficial to share counter-terrorism information between the FBI, CIA and DoD, but section 307 still contains a low “relevance” standard and removes one of the only legal barriers to DoD and CIA creating massive databases on Americans.
“Section 307 of the Intelligence Authorization Bill should be completely removed from this years legislation,” continued Ostrolenk “These troubling provisions ask Americans to give up substantial liberty and privacy, and must not be considered without full and open public debate.”
To arrange an interview with Mr. Ostrolenk, please contact Jesse Benton at 202-246-6363. For more information on The Liberty Coalition, please visit www.libertycoalition.net
