Open Letter to the Net from Sens. Burns, Pressler & Ashcroft

[Conrad_Burns@burns.senate.gov]

     AN OPEN INVITATION TO THE INTERNET COMMUNITY FROM MEMBERS OF
     THE SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE
     
     July 23, 1996
     
     This week, the Senate Commerce Committee will take a historic step 
     forward toward enhancing citizens participation in the democratic 
     process via the Internet.  On Thursday July 25 the Committee's hearing 
     on S. 1726, the "Pro-CODE" Act of 1996 will be cybercast live on the 
     Internet.
     
     As many of you are well aware, the debate over US encryption policy is 
     of vital importance to the future development of the Internet and the 
     privacy of all Americans.   We are writing to invite you to join us in 
     this unique event. And to help the Committee better understand your 
     concerns about privacy and security on the Internet, we are inviting 
     you to submit your thoughts for the hearing record via the World Wide 
     Web and to discuss the issues with us and members of our staff live 
     online during the hearing.
     
     Information on how you can join the cybercast, submit your thoughts 
     for the record, and participate in an online discussion with 
     encryption experts, members of the committee, and other concerned 
     individuals are available at:
     
     http://www.crypto.com/hearing-cybercast/
     
     Witnesses scheduled to testify at Thursday's hearing include:
     
     * Louis Freeh,  FBI Director
     * William Reinsch, Undersecretary, Bureau of Export Administration,
     Dept. of Commerce
     * William P. Crowell, Deputy Director, NSA
     * James Barksdale, CEO Netscape Communications Corporation 
     * Grover Norquist, Director, Americans for Tax Reform
     * Roel Pieper, Pres/CEO Tandem Computer 
     * Ambassador Michael Skol
     
     The Cybercast, which is being coordinated by the Center for Democracy 
     and Technology, Voters Telecommunications Watch, HotWired, DIGEX, and 
     Mike Rawson of Senator Burns' office, has four components.  These are:
     
     1. LIVE AUDIO CYBERCAST: The audio portion of the hearing will be
     cybercast live online in real-time. Anyone with RealAudio installed on 
     their computers (available free at http://www.realaudio.com/) will be 
     able to listen in on the hearing.  Audio transcripts will also be 
     archived online at http://www.crypto.com/events/072596/ after the 
     hearing.
     
     2. REAL-TIME PICTURES: Pictures from the hearing will also be uploaded
     to the World Wide Web in real time throughout the hearing.
     
     3. SIMULTANEOUS ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUM: Netizens can also join a live
     discussion forum where encryption experts and Commerce Committee staff 
     while they listen to the audio portion of the hearing.  This provides 
     an opportunity to discuss the issues raised by the testimony in real 
     time with knowledgeable experts and Congressional staff. Several 
     members of the Commerce Committee may also join the discussion 
     periodically (TBA).
     
     4. TESTIMONY FOR THE RECORD: Netizens can also submit their thoughts 
     on the  legislation for the record via the World Wide Web.  Details 
     are posted at the http://www.crypto.com/events/072596/. 
     
     Finally, detailed background information on the encryption debate can 
     be found at the following World Wide Web sites:
     
     Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT)           - http://www.senate.gov/~burns/ 
     Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD)      -http://www.senate.gov/~pressler/   
     Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO)        -http://www.senate.gov/~ashcroft/
     Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)          - http://www.senate.gov/~leahy/ 
     The Encryption Policy Resource Page   - http://www.crypto.com/
     The Internet Privacy Coalition        - http://www.privacy.org/ipc
     
     Your thoughts and comments on this issue are extremely helpful to us 
     as we continue to push for passage of legislation to enhance privacy 
     and security on the Internet. We hope you will join us on Thursday for 
     this important experiment in the future of democracy.
     
     Sincerely,
     
     Sen. Conrad Burns
     Sen. Larry Pressler
     Sen. John Ashcroft