Hss assignment – Due 6/5
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- Bulk data reform controversial despite some agreement – ideology and election year
HSS Assignment – Due 6/5General Politics Mechanics and Theory Specific Agency work Yes-No credit blame for FBI. If in doubt, “yes blame” for FBI = more important. Yes-No Obama can control spin or characterization of the plan. To Downfile with Links FileLink – Bulk Data – ControversyNSA data reform links – differing approaches make it a heavy liftKiefer 14 [Francine Kiefer is the congressional correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, which she joined in 1980 1-17-2014 http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/DC-Decoder/2014/0117/NSA-reform-Obama-faces-headwinds-in-a-Congress-divided-on-surveillance-policy] President Obama says he’d like to put the US government out of the business of storing Americans’ phone records – though he maintains it’s still necessary to collect those records en masse for anti-terrorism purposes. To make this and other suggested changes to the National Security Agency's surveillance system, he’ll need the help of Congress. Capitol Hill, however, is as divided on the subject as is the American public. Libertarian-minded conservatives align with liberals in opposing the phone-dragnet program altogether, while other Republicans and Democrats largely support it. Last July, the House fell short of ending the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records, on a close, bipartisan vote. On the key House and Senate committees responsible for drafting relevant legislation, members of the judiciary panels tend to want wholesale changes, while those dealing with intelligence want only tweaks. But even that is a bit of a generalization, as division also marks the committees. The upshot is that Congress could well have a tough time agreeing on the legislation required to alter the program. President Obama proposes that the government stop holding phone records. In making this recommendation, the president followed the advice of a blue-chip review panel he convened after the furor over massive leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Although the panel found no intentional abuse of the records so far – and the NSA collects data about a phone call but not its content – it warned that the government's storage of the data creates the potential for abuse and public mistrust. Mr. Obama has asked the attorney general to come up with an alternative storage arrangement. The panel suggested either keeping it with the phone companies or entrusting it with a third party. "While I am encouraged the president is addressing the NSA spying program because of pressure from Congress and the American people, I am disappointed in the details,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky, in a statement. The senator, a tea party favorite, described Obama’s solution as “the same unconstitutional program with a new configuration.” In the end, Senator Paul told CNN, little changes: Private records will still be collected without a search warrant. He gave Obama an “A for effort” though. In the House, Rep. Adam Schiff (D) of California, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, welcomed the changes. But in a statement – and in legislation he introduced – the congressman says the government should obtain an individualized court order to get at phone records “already held by phone companies as part of their normal business practices.” He opposes a third party holding records because it would be “perceived as a subsidiary of the NSA and would do little to build public confidence.” Conversely, letting the phone companies store the records “may create as many privacy problems as it solves,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) of Iowa, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week. He pointed to recent examples of hacking at Target and Neiman Marcus. Rep. Peter King (R) of New York, a strong defender of the NSA's bulk data collection, tweeted, in part: “Pres Obama NSA speech better than expected. Most programs left intact.” Indeed, the need to keep up the mass collection of phone records has staunch defenders on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. She says that collecting phone records is “important to prevent another [9/11] attack.” House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio took on a cautionary tone. "When lives are at stake, the president must not allow politics to cloud his judgment," he said, in a written response. "The House will review any legislative reforms proposed by the administration, but we will not erode the operational integrity of critical programs that have helped keep America safe." An independent voice The president also seeks to change the workings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), the secret court that provides judicial review of the NSA phone collection program. Obama wants Congress to “authorize the establishment of a panel of advocates from outside government to provide an independent voice in significant cases” before the court. This, too, drew criticism from the Hill. Such a “public advocate” can’t be trusted if it even works for the government or is appointed by the government, said Senator Paul. Representative Schiff echoed that an advocate panel must be “truly independent.” On the other hand, legislation passed by Senator Feinstein’s committee last year gives the FISA court the ability to select a more sympathetic panel – “friends of the court” – to argue for privacy or to provide an independent legal perspective. In Congress, it seems, there are as many views about how to proceed as there are members. Bulk data reform controversial despite some agreement – ideology and election yearCohen 14 [Tom Cohen, Consultant at The World Bank and CNN correspondent, Lisa Desjardins and Jim Acosta, CNN 3-5-2014 http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/politics/white-house-nsa/] President Barack Obama and congressional leaders described similar proposals Tuesday for ending the National Security Agency's sweeping collection of bulk telephone records. Obama told reporters in The Netherlands that his intelligence team gave him a "workable" option for NSA reform that he said would "eliminate " concerns about how the government keeps the records known as metadata. At a news conference in Washington, the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee said they worked out their own bipartisan compromise on a similar proposal intended to alleviate what they characterized as unfounded fears of excessive government surveillance. The nearly simultaneous remarks demonstrated progress toward Obama's call in January for NSA changes in the aftermath of last year's classified leaks by former agency contractor Edward Snowden that revealed the magnitude of surveillance programs created in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Congressional battle coming However, the issue touches on deep political and ideological fissures between Republicans and Democrats, promising an extended battle in Congress over the necessary legislation -- especially in an election year. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 1.3 Mb. Share with your friends:
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