These remarks in the House on November 22, 2002: Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, today the United States Congress will send to the desk of the President of the United States for his signature, the Homeland Security bill. This bill will create the Department of Homeland Security, an agency charged with safeguarding Americans and the American way of life. When enacting this bill, we must be careful not stray into invading American's privacy when using the regulatory tools provided for in this bill. I refer specifically to the vague authorizations in this bill that would give this new Federal agency broad authority to push the privacy envelope. Section 201, paragraph 14, charges the Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure with the responsibility of establishing a secure communications and information technology infrastructure that specifically authorizes the use of `Data-mining.'' Since ``Data-mining'' has no statutory definition, I am concerned that we have not adequately established that the Department of Homeland Security does not have the green light to adopt an all encompassing program that invades the privacy of every American without their permission or knowledge. We were recently notified that former Rear Admiral John Poindexter is developing a Total Information Awareness program to monitor the everyday transactions of Americans. We cannot allow this to happen. I do not believe that this statutory language is meant to allow the Federal Government to obtain whatever list, public, private, or commercial, to profile Americans. It is clear that the American public does reject this approach, as they soundly voiced their outrage for other privacy-eroding proposals such as the FBI's ``Carnivore'' system, and the Department of Justice ``TIPS'' program. It is vital that this body adopt standards to define such terms as ``data-mining,'' and to do so early in the 108th Congress. I thank the Speaker. Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that the House is today sending H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to the President. It is an important step forward in the defense of the nation. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a few items of interest in the bill as amended by the Senate. First, Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the privacy concerns that have been raised recently about provisions in the Homeland Security bill. Le me be clear. This bill does not in any way authorize the Department of Defense program knows as ``Total Information Awareness.'' It does not authorize, fund or move into the Department anything like it. In fact, this bill provides unique statutory protections that will ensure the Department of Homeland Security could never undertake such a program. Section 892 of our bill prohibits the sharing of any information that would undermine the statutory and constitutional protections of citizens. We also create a privacy officer, the first ever established by statute, whose sole mission will be to ensure that programs like TIA never get off the ground in this Department. Our bill contains provisions that discontinue two programs that raise the very concerns that TIA has raised. We stop Operation TIPS, and ensure that nobody will use this bill as an excuse to implement a National ID card. So the legislative intent of this bill is unmistakable. This department must protect the civil liberties that we all cherish. I would like to further make it clear that references in the bill to data-mining are intended solely to authorize the use of advanced techniques to sift through existing intelligence data, not to open a new method of intruding lawful, everyday transactions of American citizens. ----- House debate and version of the bill on November 22, 2002: http://cryptome.org/hr5005.txt Nothing in the debate precludes another bill authorizing what the HSA allegedly doesn't, either openly or secretly. See in particular the House report on 2003 funding authorization for intelligence: http://cryptome.org/hr107-789.txt