IP: Don’t Press the Panic Button from the National review (not exactly a left wing pub)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel092101.shtml
\

The antiterrorism legislation before Congress is dangerous.

By Dave Kopel, research director, Independence Institute

September 21, 2001 9:10 a.m.
ongress is being asked to rush to pass emergency antiterrorist legislation 
written by the Department of Justice. House Committee hearings are 
scheduled for Friday, Senate hearings for Tuesday, and the DOJ is demanding 
the bill be enacted by the end of the week. It would be a serious mistake 
for Congress leaders to force this legislation into law without careful 
scrutiny, because much of the legislation turns out to have nothing to do 
with fighting terrorism. Instead, the legislation contains a host of items 
which have been on bureaucratic wish lists for many years.

As we strongly support Attorney General Ashcroft and his staff in 
performing their executive-branch duties, Congress must remain faithful to 
its own duties, which is to make laws carefully and correctly.
Before voting for any bill — and especially for a bill on a fast-forward 
agenda — congressmen have an obligation to read the bill. When they read 
the proposed new DOJ bill, they will find much that is unnecessary, and 
more that is a serious threat to the Bill of Rights.

For example Section 406 of the bill expands "property" to certain 
drug-forfeiture orders. The expansion might or might not be a good idea, 
but it has no business being in an emergency terrorism bill. Also, the bill 
authorizes secret searches, whereby a person would never be notified that 
his property has been searched. This broad provision applies to alll kinds 
of searches, not just terrorism searches, and is simply a retread of a 
failed proposal from the last Congress.



For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/