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

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Thu Oct 25 2001 - 06:50:14 PDT

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    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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