Liberty Coalition members:

Here's some of what Liberty Coalition and our partner organizations have been up to lately. Remember to visit www.LibertyCoalition.net regularly to learn more and find out how you can help!

The House and the Senate passed bills to protect federal employees who blow the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse by veto proof margins last year (H.R. 985, S. 274), but have yet to agree on a final bill. Now is the time to tell negotiators, leadership, and other interested Members of Congress that passing a strong bill -- especially one that extends protection to whistleblowers in the FBI and intelligence agencies -- before Congress goes on recess is a priority!

http://www.libertycoalition.net/tell-congress-protect-whistleblowers

Rep. Barney Frank has drafted a bill to make sure that the law passed against Internet gambling does not lead to widespread surveillance of online financial transactions.

http://www.libertycoalition.net/action-support-hr-6870-payment-systems-p...

September 16, 2008

Dear Chairmen Conyers and Leahy, and Ranking Members Smith and Specter,

We, the undersigned organizations who care deeply about both individual rights and effective intelligence-gathering, are gravely concerned about reported changes to federal guidelines that would lower the bar for the FBI’s law enforcement and intelligence investigations. We ask that you thoroughly question FBI Director Mueller this week about the extent of these changes and convene a hearing of civil liberties experts to discuss the implications of the guidelines once they become public and before they go into effect. It appears that fundamental changes will be made in the FBI and Department of Justice rules that govern criminal investigations and domestic intelligence gathering, and the implications of those changes require your dedicated oversight. We also ask that you prevent any funding from being used to implement these changes until the next Attorney General has a chance to review them.

[Read the entire letter signed by Liberty Coalition and others -- http://www.libertycoalition.net/liberty-coalition-asks-congress-hearings... ]

http://www.libertycoalition.net/openthegovernmentorgs-secrecy-report-car...

This year, an ideologically diverse coalition of civil society groups and think tanks from the human rights, civil liberties, environmental, civil rights, open government, limited government, and public interest communities have joined forces in a rare effort to foster respect for the U.S. Constitution by an incoming administration. Leading the effort are the American Freedom Campaign, World Resources Institute and the Liberty Coalition.

http://www.libertycoalition.net/groups-from-across-political-spectrum-ca...