Members of Congress are currently holding hearings and considering rapid action on the recommendations issued by the 9/11 Commission in early August. While the Commission's report contains beneficial analysis and recommendations, there are also proposals which, if enacted, would have a long-lasting and negative impact on the privacy and freedoms of future generations of Americans.
If we've learned one thing from the PATRIOT Act, it's that Congress must act judiciously when considering such sweeping changes to our laws. If it does not, our freedoms are in significant danger.
Based on general recommendations in the 9/11 Commission Report, some lawmakers are considering legislation that would dictate national standards for driving licenses, thereby creating a national ID card system, and that would expand controversial "no fly" and "automatic selectee" lists. If done improperly, these changes will only provide cosmetic security benefits, and will pose serious threats to privacy, liberty and safety.
While considering the Commission's other recommendations, Congress should address the 9/11 Commission's criticism of pervasive secrecy and over-classification in government. Legislation to fix this culture of "too many secrets" must include substantive reforms to reduce excessive secrecy, increase real public and Congressional oversight of intelligence activities, and provide for better protection of both whistleblowers and minority viewpoints during policy creation.
It is clear that legislation to implement the Commission's recommendations should not be driven by election year politics, nor a rush to take action for the sake of taking action. Tell your members of Congress to act judiciously, and that we can be both safe and free.
Take Action! Urge Congress to protect civil liberties when it acts on the Commission's report.
New legislation should not create a national ID card. Federalization of driver's licenses is a national ID card through the back door. A national ID card will not stop terrorists or criminals because they will continue to obtain - by legal or illegal means - the documents needed to get a government ID. A national ID would depend on a massive bureaucracy that would limit our basic freedoms and would endanger our privacy by accessing and integrating huge amounts of personal information included in state and federal databases. A national ID could require all Americans to carry an internal passport at all times, compromising our privacy, limiting our freedom and exposing us to unfair discrimination based on national origin or religion.
New legislation should address, not exacerbate, problems with current passenger screening watch-lists. Watch lists are notoriously unreliable and difficult to fix when they contain errors, as happened when one recently identified Senator Edward Kennedy as a potential terrorist and kept him from boarding his plane. Before Congress considers expanding these lists, it should create an effective process through which innocent travelers who pose no security risk can clear their names.
New legislation should eliminate excessive government secrecy. The 9/11 Commission recognized that excessive classification - and not civil liberties safeguards - represents one of the greatest barriers to effective information sharing and intelligence analysis. New legislation should reduce government secrecy, protect whistleblowers and internal dissenters and enhance public and Congressional oversight of intelligence activities.
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