========================================================================= _ _ __| | ___ _ __ ___ ___ ___ _ __ __ _ ___ _ _ _ __ ___| |_ / _` |/ _ \ '_ ` _ \ / _ \ / __| '__/ _` |/ __| | | | | '_ \ / _ \ __| | (_| | __/ | | | | | (_) | (__| | | (_| | (__| |_| |_| | | | __/ |_ \__,_|\___|_| |_| |_|\___/ \___|_| \__,_|\___|\__, (_)_| |_|\___|\__| |___/ Government Without Walls _________________________________________________________________________ Update No.14 http://www.democracy.net/ Oct 06 1997 _________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents - Virtual Town Hall Meeting with Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) Wed 10/08 - About democracy.net _____________________________________________________________________ DEMOCRACY.NET VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING WITH REP. DAVID DREIER (R-CA) Join Representative David Dreier (R-CA) live at democracy.net for an interactive discussion of current Internet policy issues, including efforts to reform US Encryption policy. Dreier is a name you need to know. As a member of the House Rules Committee, Representative Dreier will soon be called upon to help reconcile the various versions of the Security and Freedom Through Encryption Act (SAFE, HR 695). Dreier is a sponsor of the original version of SAFE, and supports efforts to promote privacy and security on the Internet through the widespread availability of strong encryption. However, the FBI, and Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon (R-NY) are pushing for a version of SAFE which contains sweeping new domestic encryption restrictions. Representative Dreier is also a leading advocate for the use of the Internet and other interactive communications technology to make Congress more open, accountable, and effective, having played a key role in forming the 21st Century Congress Project. He has sponsored a campaign finance bill (HR 1780 - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d105:h.r.1780:) that would require candidates to file their donations with the Federal Elections Commission and disclose them rapidly on the Internet, among other issues the bill tackles. Dreier is also a member of the Congressional Internet Caucus. EVENT DETAILS: Date: Wednesday October 8, 1997 Time: 8:00 pm Eastern (5:00 pm pacific) Location: http://www.democracy.net HOW THE TOWN HALL MEETING WORKS: The democracy.net Virtual Town Hall Meeting will include a moderated discussion between Rep. Dreier and democracy.net moderator Todd Lappin, cybercast live via RealAudio. Participants can join a simultaneous chat forum to pose questions for the moderator and discuss the proceedings. Questions can also be submitted via a form on the democracy.net web site (http://www.democracy.net/questions/) WHAT YOU'LL NEED: You will need a copy of RealAuido and a telnet application to participate. Both are available free at http://www.democracy.net/ We hope you will join us for an interesting discussion. _______________________________________________________________________________ REPRESENTATIVE DRIER ON THE SECURITY AND FREEDOM THROUGH ENCRYPTION ACT (SAFE): "Export controls on encryption software put U.S. firms at a disadvantage against foreign competitors who are permitted to sell more advanced software on the international market. These controls also fail to prevent foreign software companies from producing advanced encryption software. I support H.R. 695, the Security and Freedom Through Encryption (SAFE) Act, which addresses the concerns of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies by permitting the export of encryption software which is as advanced as software widely available on the international market." _____________________________________________________________________________ SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF REP. DRIER (from http://www.house.gov/dreier) Congressman David Dreier (R-CA) is in his ninth term representing the eastern cities of Los Angeles County. He serves on the House Rules Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House. In 1996, the Subcommittee set up the 21st Century Congress Project to develop and recommend changes in Congress' operations and legislative procedures that will allow technology to make the institution more open, accountable and effective. The subcommittee held two hearings on the impact of new information technologies on the legislative process and decision-making. The first was an interactive hearing that utilized television, video conference technology, e-mail and the Internet. Information about the 21st Century Congress Project and the testimony and transcripts of the two technology hearings can be accessed on the Subcommittee Web site at http://www.house.gov/rules_org. Dreier is a member of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Internet Caucus. Working with Congressman Rick White, he pushed through the new House rule requiring committees to put their publications on the Internet. Dreier's office Web site is considered one of the most comprehensive and informative on Capitol Hill. There, citizens can gain obtain information on Dreier's legislative priorities, access CRS reports and other hard-to-find resources on how Congress works, and communicate directly with the Congressman by Web mail. Legislatively, Dreier is a cosponsor of the Security and Freedom Through Encryption (SAFE) Act. He is also the sponsor of the Voter Empowerment Act, which reforms the campaign finance by, among other things, requiring all disclosure information to be made available on the Internet, and requiring the FEC to publish an expansive Internet site which would contain a separate page for every Congressional and Presidential candidate, each PAC, and every national party. ___________________________________________________________________________ ABOUT DEMOCRACY.NET democracy.net is a joint project of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and the Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW) to explore ways of enhancing citizen participation in the democratic process via the Internet. To this end, democracy.net will host live, interactive cybercasts of Congressional Hearings and online town hall meetings with key policy makers. democracy.net is made possible through the generous support of WebActive, Public Access Networks, theSync, and Democracy Network. More information about the project and its sponsors can be found at http://www.democracy.net/about/ To receive democracy.net announcements automatically, please visit our signup form at http://www.democracy.net/ To stop receiving these announcements, please send email to majordomo@democracy.net with "unsubscribe events" in the body of the message. _________________________________________________________________________ end update no.14 10/06/97 =========================================================================