I had hoped that normal government incompetence would prevent them from passing something. Well, there's still hope that it'll get clogged up, or that the courts will toss it out - somehow I think they won't like the idea of taps without a court order, for instance (giving up a judicial prerogative). I am also somewhat puzzled by the racketeering law reference - I had thought that federal racketeering laws allowed civil forfeiture sans conviction (shudder)? The "funding" for telephone companies sounds suspiciously like funding Digital Telephony. -Allen
School House
WHITE HOUSE, KEY LAWMAKERS AGREE ON ANTI-TERRORISM PROPOSALS
Copyright © 1996 Nando.net Copyright © 1996 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Aug 1, 1996 09:53 a.m. EDT) -- After wrangling with key Republican lawmakers, the White House has won agreement on a package of anti-terrorism measures that would expand wiretapping authority and tighten airport security.
[...]
But omitted from the agreement was a central part of Clinton's proposals, a study of chemical markers in explosives, called taggants, which had been heavily criticized by some Republicans. Also rejected was a provision to allow the FBI to get information on suspected terrorists from hotels, telephone companies and storage facilities.
[...] The agreement also would allow prosecution of suspected terrorists under federal racketeering laws, which would make anyone convicted subject to asset forfeitures and longer sentences.
The negotiators, led by Panetta and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said they hoped to have a package ready for a vote by week's end, before Congress leaves for its August recess.
But Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said earlier in the day that final passage before the recess appeared unlikely. "I don't see how in the world we can get it done" by then, Lott told reporters.
Lott and other GOP leaders summoned Attorney General Janet Reno, Panetta and FBI Director Louis Freeh to a meeting today to explain why some of the FBI's anti-terrorism funds haven't been spent.
"We are increasingly concerned that monies and authorities already granted to the administration are not being used effectively or at all," Lott, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, wrote in a letter to Clinton.
Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin said the Republican assertions were "misleading."
Gingrich and Lott also proposed that a blue-ribbon commission review the government's anti-terrorism policy -- a move that would delay congressional action. The new package includes such a commission for longer-term legislative proposals, Craig said.
He said the lawmakers' aides planned to work through the night to draft the proposals into a package that could be put to a vote before week's end.
"I feel very positive at this moment," Craig told reporters Wednesday night.
Craig said the proposals included multipoint wiretaps, which allow law enforcement agents to monitor all phone calls made by a suspected terrorist, rather than just those from a specific telephone, as well as emergency wiretaps, which are valid for 48 hours without a court order.
[... yeah, right]
Craig stressed that the new wiretap provisions would include "some privacy language that will protect people."
Other proposals on which accord was reached include the use of special technology to make it easier to trace telephone numbers called by suspected terrorists and a trust fund to reimburse phone companies for expenses they incur in that area.
Craig listed the proposals but gave few details, which had yet to be worked out.
Copyright © 1996 Nando.net