More on the latest Surveillance Bill...

[jseiger@cdt.org (Jonah Seiger)]

The outline below is from a document produced by the House Republican
Conference.  It is ONLY A SUMMARY of the proposed bill and is NOT actual
legislation.  No one I have spoken with has seen any specific legislative
language yet.

The outline is confusing on several points, particularly the "FBI DIGITAL
TELEPHONY" Section, which says:

 "The bill authorizes the FBI to use enhanced telephone technology to
  investigate suspected terrorist activity.  Funding for equipment purchase was
  provided in the 1996 omnibus appropriations measure enacted earlier this
  year."

The first sentence above is not at all clear, and probably won't be until
we can get our hands on the actual text of the bill. It could be additional
wiretap authority (ie, roving wiretaps), or it could be nothing.  As far as
the funding goes, the "1996 omnibus appropriations measure" DID NOT contain
funding for implementation of the law - but it did appropriate $37 million
to cover new equipment for the FBI.

The rest looks like it is a scaled back version of a measure the
Administration and members of Congress were pushing earlier this week, but
the scope of the new bill depends a lot on what the actual text says.

I will post additional information as soon as I get it.

Jonah

--


                Bipartisan Antiterrorism Initiative
                                HR__

                     Committee on the Judiciary
                          No Report Filed
                         To Be Introduced

Floor Situation:

The House is scheduled to consider HR__ on Friday August 2, 1996. On
Thursday August 1, the Rules Committee granted a rule to allow the bill to
be considered under suspension of the rules. It is debatable for 40
minutes, may not be amended, and requires a two-thirds vote for passage.

Summary:

HR__ includes several bipartisan initiatives intended to bolster federal
efforts to combat domestic terrorism in addition to those already enacted
earlier this year as part of the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act (P.L. 104-132).  The bill contains the following
counter-terrorism provisions:

Aviation SECURITY MEASURES: The bill enables domestic airports to
aggressively search for and prevent explosives from causing destruction and
harm to individuals or property through enhanced explosive detection
procedures, baggage and passenger screening, and FBI authority to improve
airport security training and standards to ensure that provisions of the
1990 Aviation Security Act (P.L 101-604) are implemented expeditiously.
Specifically, the bill (1) requires the FAA to implement increased
explosives section methods immediately, (2) strengthen the level of
training and expertise possessed by security personnel who are assigned to
domestic airports, (3) allows airports to use available funding to
reinforce such training for security personnel, and (4) extends criminal
background requirements to include a greater number of airport employees.

IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING ANTI-TERRORISM LAWS: The bill urges
implementation of provisions enacted in the 1996 Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act (P.L. 104-132), such as designating and
freezing the assets of foreign terrorist organizations and implementing
expedited removal procedures for aliens convicted of a crime.

BIPARTISAN "BLUE RIBBON" COMMISSION: The bill establishes a special
commission to review all aspects of U.S. anti-terrorism policy and make
legislative recommendations about methods to most effectively establish a
long-term defense against terrorist threats, including enhancing the
nation's human intelligence capabilities.

PRIVACY ACT AMENDMENTS: The bill includes provisions which grant a cause of
action against the U.S. if in the course of a wiretap investigation
damaging information is willfully disclosed to the detriment of an innocent
party by the federal government.  The cause of action includes monetary
damages to the plaintiff if a favorable decision is rendered in federal
court.

EXPLOSIVES STUDY: The bill authorizes a study on black and smokeless powder
by an independent agency selected by the National Institute of Justice.

FEDERAL RACKETEERING STATUTE CRIMES: The bill permits federal prosecutors
to deem those acts determined to be terrorist in nature as substantial
enough to invoke criminal prosecution under existing criminal racketeering
(RICO) statutes.

FBI DIGITAL TELEPHONY: The bill authorizes the FBI to use enhanced
telephone technology to investigate suspected terrorist activity.  Funding
for equipment purchase was provided in the 1996 omnibus appropriations
measure enacted earlier this year.

--

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--
Jonah Seiger, Policy Analyst           Center for Democracy and Technology
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