IP: Addendum to EFFector Online 09.11: DT funding stripped

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 15:19:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: Stanton McCandlish <mech () eff org>


X-EFF_General_Info: info () eff org
X-URL: http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/Newsletters/EFFector/
Summary: No *immediate* action needed, but DT funding is creeping up in
other legislation


ADDENDUM to EFFector Online Volume 09 No. 11


Aug. 2, 1996   editors () eff org




The Digital Telephony funding provisions have been *REMOVED* from the 
modified House anti-terrorism bill.  That bill *has* passed the House, but
from what we know from CDT, HotWired, and others physically on the scene, 
the bill contains primarily provisions for beefing up airport security 
and other useful things, plus calls for various commissions and studies, 
and does not contain any anti-privacy measures. Word has it that primarily
objections from the ACLU led to removal of the DT funding section (that 
is, unlike in last night's deliberations, surveillance privacy issues may 
have actually be taken seriously this time.)


This removes the immediate danger of Senate passage of, and Presidential 
signature on, DT funding as part of a rushed terrorism bill.  However, DT
funding is part of an already passed House appropriations bill as well, 
to be reviewed by the Senate before long.  The Senate has adopted no such 
provisions as of yet.




* Action to take:


Write or fax *your own* legislators, and urge them to *reject* CALEA 
("Digital Telephony") funding in the CJS Approriations Bill emerging from 
the House.




* Find Out Who Your Congresspersons Are


Writing letters to, faxing, and phoning your representatives in Congress
is one very important strategy of activism, and an essential way of
making sure YOUR voice is heard on vital issues.


EFF has lists of the Senate and House with contact information, as well
as lists of Congressional committees. These lists are available at:
ftp.eff.org, /pub/Activism/Congress_cmtes/
gopher.eff.org, 1/EFF/Issues/Activism/Congress_cmtes
http://www.eff.org/pub/Activism/Congress_cmtes/


The full Senate and House lists are senate.list and hr.list, respectively.
Those not in the U.S. should seek out similar information about their
own legislative bodies.  EFF will be happy to archive any such
information provided to us, so pass it on!


If you are having difficulty determining who your US legislators are,
try contacting your local League of Women Voters, who maintain a great
deal of legislator information, or consult the free ZIPPER service
that matches Zip Codes to Congressional districts with about 85%
accuracy at:
http://www.stardot.com/~lukeseem/zip.html


Computer Currents Interactive has provided Congress contact info, sorted
by who voted for and against the Communcations Decency Act:
http://www.currents.net/congress.html