Congress Mulls Secrecy on Several Fronts

Those who care about American's right to know would do well to keep eyes peeled on recent congressional action. Proposals to amend the USA Patriot Act and spending bills are at the center of congressional debate over openness in government. In that debate, which pits the doctrine of reauthorization of federalism against the government's penchant for secrecy, the Senate added a provision to a $350 billion transportation bill (H.R. 3550) that would preempt state and local sunshine laws in order to mandate secrecy about public safety problems in aviation, rail and other transportation systems. The administration-sponsored secrecy provisions expand already broad powers granted to the Transportation Security Administration to define problems potentially harming public safety as "sensitive security information" that should be kept from the press and public. The preemption language is not included in the version of H.R. 3550 that the House passed. The differences will be negotiated in conference. Congress also saw action on several bills that would amend the Patriot Act. Through the efforts of many including the Rights Working Group, an affiliation of public interest groups against the Patriot Act, the Civil Liberties Restoration Act 2004 (S. 2528) was introduced on June 16. The bill would end secret hearings, ensure due process for detained individuals, limit secret seizures of records, and limit the use of secret evidence. In a closed session on June 16, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was scheduled to consider attaching a bill (H.R. 3179) to the intelligence authorization bill that would have expanded the use of secret evidence in court cases and strengthened penalties for violating Patriot Act gag orders. In what may be a modest and temporary win -- but a win nonetheless -- for civil liberties and open government advocates, the Intelligence Committee kept the controversial language out of the intelligence authorization bill, although proponents may try adding H.R. 3179 to the must-pass intelligence bill as a floor amendment in the Senate. And several weeks ago, ten senators quietly introduced a bill, S. 2476, which would make permanent the controversial provisions of the Patriot Act scheduled to sunset next year. The bill is referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Finally, by a vote of 54 to 39 the Senate upheld a ban on media coverage of fallen soldiers' flag-draped coffins returning to the U.S. More updates and links to more information about these events can be found at www.openthegovernment.org
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