For immediate release:
July 27, 2007

Contact:
David McGuire
(202) 637-9800 x106

9/11 Bill Contains Critical Privacy and Civil Liberties Provisions

WASHINGTON -- Congress today is expected to approve the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007, which contains several positions that should improve government accountability and bolster the privacy of ordinary Americans. CDT supports the provisions and urges the President to sign the measure.

The legislation, H.R. 1, enacts many of the recommendations contained in the 9/11 Commission report, including several designed to strengthen privacy and improve government accountability in the handling of sensitive personal information. One key provision would require federal agencies to disclose the details of their "data-mining" activities to Congress.

"Congress should be commended for giving serious consideration to privacy and civil liberties as it crafted this measure intended to enhance our security at home," CDT President Leslie Harris said. "As the 9/11 Commission noted, meaningful privacy and robust security have never been mutually exclusive aims. Legislators now understand that they can strengthen our borders and provide law enforcement the tools it needs, while still safeguarding our core constitutional liberties."

In addition, the measure would:

• Require the President's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board become an independent agency, giving it greater autonomy and authority to oversee the government's handling of personal privacy and other civil liberties;
• Grant the Department of Homeland Security's Privacy Officer greater independence and broader investigative authority within the agency;
• Mandates the inclusion of Privacy and Civil Liberties Officers within the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Service, State, Homeland Security as well as within the CIA in the Director of National Intelligence office.