FC: House chairman: No "parochial" issues must stop wiretap bill

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Background on the final USA Act v3.0, which expands wiretapping and 
surveillance:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02707.html
http://www.wartimeliberty.com/search.pl?topic=legislation

President Bush's statement that he looks forward to signing the bill:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011024-4.html

Sen. Patrick Leahy applauds the bill, congratulating the Senate on expected 
approval today:
http://www.senate.gov/~leahy/press/200110/102401.html

**********

http://www.wartimeliberty.com/article.pl?sid=01/10/25/0423207&mode=thread

      The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday for a
   revised "USA Act" anti-terrorism bill that expands wiretapping and
   surveillance. You can see the 400 KB final text and the vote counts.
   Note that two weeks ago, the House approved the bill by a 339 by 79
   vote and gave it a five-year expiration date. Then the Senate decided
   to get persnickety and demanded that anti-financial privacy "money
   laundering" sections must be added, insisted that the expiration date
   be shortened to four years, and so on. The doughty defenders of
   liberty in the House reponded by approving the rewritten, expanded
   bill by -- a 357 to 66 vote. Translation: Making the bill more
   Draconian, onerous, and nasty convinced precisely 13 more politicos to
   vote for the revised version. How pleasant.

**********

News Advisory
For immediate 
release                                                           Contact: 
Jeff Lungren
October 24, 
2001 
202-225-2492
House Passes Anti-terrorism Legislation
Sensenbenner Urges Senate Action Today
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House today passed anti-terrorism legislation by a 
357-66 margin.  H.R. 3162, introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman 
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.), is expected to be considered by the 
Senate today or tomorrow and then sent to President Bush for his signature.
"Today, the House came together in a bipartisan manner to pass landmark 
anti-terrorism legislation which provides federal law enforcement and 
intelligence agencies the tools they need to combat the scourges of 
international and domestic terrorism.  Our country remains vulnerable to 
terrorism and our President needs this bill to fight the clear and present 
danger posed by Al Queda and other terrorist organizations," said Chairman 
Sensenbrenner.
"I have heard that certain Senators have placed holds on this 
anti-terrorism bill to press their own parochial issues.  This is the time 
to dispense with business as usual.  It is time for leadership; I urge the 
Senate to pass this legislation today."

[Does Sensenbrenner mean dispensing with "business as usual" by not holding 
hearings on the bill, perhaps? Or perhaps he wants to reject "parochial" 
issues like concerns over privacy, maybe? --Declan]

**********




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