Organization Calls for Privacy Protections for Financial Records, Careful Investigation Before Congress Legislates
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution that would support the Administration’s program to collect financial information obtained by the SWIFT financial clearinghouse. The House resolution also condemns the news media’s disclosure of that program.
The resolution was drafted by the House Republican leadership mainly in response to the story broken by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times. The resolution, H. Res. 895, is being voted on today.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
“Without the full facts, the House is seeking to condone a controversial Bush program. Instead of passing this resolution, Congress should investigate this White House’s refusal to follow the rule of law. The White House should stop blaming those who have leaked this information and instead end its abuse of power. Congress should be demanding exhaustive hearings determine whether this administration’s program threatens the privacy of Americans.
“What is becoming
clear is that Americans' sensitive financial information has been opened to the
prying eyes of the government for years without any independent review. Instead of targeting the media,
Congress should be prioritizing our citizens’ privacy. Congress is not fulfilling its
constitutional role of providing the oversight that the American people so
desperately need. Our government
cannot possibly deem something ’lawful‘ when there has been no clear explanation
of the depth and scope of the SWIFT program. Congress should not bless the
administration’s flipping through our checkbooks before it
investigates.”