February 7, 2003
Letter to Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran
Letter to Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
February 7, 2003
The Honorable John William Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4601
The Honorable George F. Allen
United States Senate
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4604
The Honorable James P. Moran
U.S House of Representatives
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4608
Dear Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran:
I understand that the Senate has approved an amendment offered by Senator Wyden to the Omnibus Appropriations bill for 2003 which will limit funding for the Total Information Awareness program. To become law, this amendment needs to pass through the next legislative hoop intact. As your constituent, I hope that you will make every effort to see that this amendment is retained in the final version of the 2003 Appropriations bill.
I am categorically opposed to this Pentagon program which amounts to a massive domestic data collection and surveillance tool which threatens to turn us all into “suspects” without proof of criminal wrongdoing. Law-abiding people should be protected from government snooping. It has been a hallmark of American democracy that our individual privacy is protected against government intervention and snooping as long as we are not guilty of wrongdoing. TIA would obliterate these protections — the government would simply look at data on everyone. Doing so would make us all suspects and in effect eliminate our personal privacy.
In searching for terrorists, we must not investigate everyone. It has been suggested that searching for terrorists in our midst is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It certainly makes no sense to make the haystack even bigger by creating the means to investigate hundreds of millions of law-abiding Americans rather than focusing in on real suspects.
Finally, and most importantly, Congress must step in and ask the tough questions about this program. Congress must not allow the Defense Department to unilaterally develop a surveillance tool that would invade the privacy of innocent people in the United States. At a time when Americans are calling for more privacy of personal information, this program would provide a back door to databases of private information. At a minimum, Congress must put Total Information Awareness on hold and investigate the far-reaching consequences of developing vast domestic surveillance systems.
Once again, I urge you to retain the Wyden amendment in conference and take an important step in protecting privacy against this massive surveillance tool.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this crucial matter.
Sincerely,
James Landrith
February 10, 2003
Mr. James A. Landrith, Jr.
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208
Dear Mr. Landrith:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Total Information Awareness System (TIA). I appreciate hearing your views on this important matter, and I apologize for the delay in responding.
The Total Information Awareness System is a research program within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Information Awareness Office (LAO). The mission of the Information Awareness Office is to develop new technologies to provide tools and analyze data in order to prevent further terrorist attacks and strengthen homeland security.
Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the technical ability of the federal government to search various law enforcement and national security databases in order to identify potential terrorist threats has become a more pressing issue. TIA was created in October, 2001 with the goal of developing technology that will enable intelligence, counterintelligence and federal law enforcement officials to search and correlate information from databases currently available to the intelligent community. Commercial databases are not being utilized in the TIA program. TIA uses only data permitted by existing laws and policies.
Many assumptions about the TIA program are based on misleading reports that have been circulated in recent months. The TIA system is not currently an operational program. DARPA is a research and development agency under the Department of Defense and will not be involved with any future operational use of TIA. There is also a misconception that development of TIA is an activity within the new Department of Homeland Security, this is incorrect.
I share the concerns individuals have expressed regarding possible violations of privacy rights. A great number of policy changes would need to be examined and approved by Congress before federal entities could have unlimited access to commercial databases. While I support initiatives that enhance the ability of law enforcement to combat terrorism, it is imperative that these efforts not trespass on the individual rights guaranteed by our Constitution.
On January 23, 2003, legislation was adopted by the Senate which provides certain limitations and prohibitions on the development of the Total Information Awareness program. Specifically, the legislation requires the Pentagon to report to Congress on the goals of the program within 60 days of the bill’s final passage, including recommendations from the Attorney General on minimizing the impact of the program on civil liberties. In addition, the measure would prevent the Pentagon from deploying the program or transferring it to another department without Congressional authorization. The amendment was agreed to by a voice vote, and included as a part of the Omnibus FY2003 Appropriations bill that passed the Senate on January 23, 2003.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind and will closely monitor further developments relating to the TIA program.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/wpb
March 4, 2003
Mr. James Landrith
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306
Dear Mr. Landrith:
I thought you might appreciate learning that a provision was added to the Fiscal 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act (H.J. Res. 2), which I supported, that restricted funding for the Defense Department’s Total Information Awareness (TIA) project. This legislation became law on February, 20, 2003.
As approved, the final conference agreement withholds all funding for TIA research and development if, after 90 days from the signing of the appropriations measure, the Pentagon fails to submit a report to Congress on the program. The report must assess the likely impact of the implementation of the TIA system on privacy and civil liberties. Should Congress accept the report, the law still prohibits TIA deployment without specific congressional authorization. The President, however, would still have the authority to deploy the system if he determines it is critical for lawful military operations conducted outside the United States or for lawful foreign intelligence activities conducted wholly against non-United States persons.
As this issue of data mining continues to unfold, Congress will need to intervene to delineate how the information should be used and establish safeguards to protect against its potential abuse. What funds should be made available to develop and implement such a system? What safeguards or firewalls should be established to restrict mining of private electronic databases? How can or should the information be used? What redress should be provided for erroneous information and potential injury?
I also have concerns that once the infrastructure is created, Congress and a vigilant public will need to properly manage this information. Information captured today on the activities deemed acceptable, could potentially be used one day when similar type activities are no longer deemed acceptable. These concerns and unanswered questions only reinforce the need to enact legislation (H.R. 583) I sponsored with former Rep. Asa Hutchinson to create a bi-partisan commission to study issues relating to protection of individual privacy and develop recommendations on the appropriate balance between protecting individual privacy and allowing appropriate uses of electronic information. I look forward to reintroducing this measure and will keep your concerns in mind as Congress monitors the activities of the Department of Homeland Security.
For your consideration, I invite you to visit my new and updated website at http://www.house.gov/moran that contains information on topics that may be of interest. Thank you again for contacting me.
Yours truly,
James P. Moran
JPM/int1
April 17, 2003
Mr. James Landrith
Post Office Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306
Dear James:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. I appreciate your input and value the opportunity to respond.
As you may know, the TIA program is a research program within the Department of Defense meant to enable the United States to detect, classify and identify foreign terrorists in the hopes of anticipating and preventing terrorist acts. Congress passed an amendment that the TIA program may only be deployed at operating bases in the United States to assist in the conduct of lawful U.$. foreign intelligence activities. With my strong support, Congress agreed that the Defense Department should never use the TIA program to conduct any intelligence activities on any American citizens.
Now more than ever, attending to international threats and enhancing our border security are necessary to the well being of our nation. Proper collaboration and communication amongst our intelligence agencies is essential in securing our homeland and protecting our citizens. However, the federal government cannot be permitted to infringe upon the right of privacy that exists for each and every American. While I believe that national security is an issue of top concern, I also believe that we must not compromise our civil liberties in the name of counter terrorism.
I want to thank you again for taking the time to contact me. It is truly an honor to serve you in the United States Senate, and I want you to know that your input is very helpful as I look for ways to ensure that your voice is heard in Washington.
With warm regards, I remain
Sincerely,
George Allen