1 April 1998
Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

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[Congressional Record: March 31, 1998 (Extensions)]
[Page E529]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr31mr98-19]



 
            AMERICA'S POLICE OPPOSE THE SAFE ACT (H.R. 695)

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 31, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the National Sheriffs' Association, the 
Association of Chiefs of Police, the District Attorneys' Association, 
and The National Association of Attorneys General all oppose H.R. 695 
(The SAFE ACT). The members of these organizations are planning to 
visit with Members of Congress this Spring to urge opposition to the 
SAFE ACT.
  The Justice Department found that the bill would ``severely 
compromise law enforcement's ability to protect the American people 
from the threats posed by terrorists, organized crime, child 
pornographers . . . and other criminals,'' the President will veto the 
bill if it is presented to him in its current form.
  The so called SAFE ACT (H.R. 695) presents an extremely one-sided 
response to the encryption issue. The bill was drafted by and for the 
software industry, at the expense of the national security and public 
safety needs of the American people.
  In an editorial, The Washington Post declared that ``the real 
question is whether you believe this stuff poses a significant national 
security threat in the wrong hands. If you do--and we think it 
irresponsible to assume otherwise--then it's not enough to declare 
uncrackable privacy a civil right. You have to at least address the 
question of how to minimize intrusion into that right while preserving 
some ability to grapple with the potential danger.''
  The SAFE ACT (H.R. 695) is an unacceptable, unbalanced solution to 
the critical issue of encryption. it is imperative that the provisions 
included by the National Security Committee and the Intelligence 
Committee be incorporated into the Goodlatte bill in order to effect a 
compromise between the needs of industry and the legitimate law 
enforcement and international security needs of the American people. I 
respectfully request that you support a balanced encryption policy and 
oppose H.R. 695.

                          ____________________

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[Congressional Record: March 31, 1998 (Extensions)]
[Page E531]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr31mr98-25]



 
           THE AMERICAN LEGION OPPOSES H.R. 695, THE SAFE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 31, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, as you know, every major police 
organization in the United States, representing millions of Americans 
strongly oppose H.R. 695. Now our veterans have joined their efforts to 
defeat the bill. I have included in the Record today a letter from The 
American Legion which outlines their opposition to H.R. 695, the Safe 
Act.
  The American Legion concurs that there are some provisions in the 
original H.R. 695 that can and will be detrimental to our national 
security and law enforcement efforts and will advise its membership of 
4 million to the bill's shortcomings.

                                          The American Legion,

                                Washington, DC, February 25, 1998.
     Hon. Gerald B. Solomon,
     U.S. House of Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Solomon: Thank you for advising me of 
     your concerns with pending encryption legislation. After 
     reviewing the legislation and reading testimony by respected 
     authorities in law enforcement and national security matters, 
     The American Legion concurs that there are some provisions in 
     the original H.R. 695 that can and will be detrimental to our 
     national security and law enforcement efforts.
       It is our contention that the Department of Commerce should 
     not be making decisions that impact so strongly on our 
     country's national security. That responsibility should be 
     left to other agencies of the federal government who have 
     more expertise in electronic intelligence technology. The 
     language in the amended version of H.R. 695 (Section 3) that 
     was developed by the House Committees on National Security 
     and Intelligence appears to provide a degree of limitation 
     and control in this sensitive area and is a measure we can 
     support.
       The American Legion will be conducting its annual 
     Legislative Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol 
     Hill, March 22-24. I will ask our Legislative staff to invite 
     representatives of the Justice Department to speak on this 
     matter. We shall also voice our concerns to Members of 
     Congress when we make our annual visitation on March 24.
       Thank you for alerting us of this situation. We will 
     continue to monitor this matter and will also advise our 
     membership of the pending legislation and its shortcomings.
           Sincerely,
                                                Anthony G. Jordan,
                                               National Commander.

     

                          ____________________

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[Congressional Record: March 31, 1998 (Extensions)]
[Page E532-E533]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr31mr98-30]


  THE SAFE ACT (H.R. 695) IS DETRIMENTAL TO ISRAEL'S NATIONAL SECURITY

                                 ______


                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 31, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, below is the Clinton Administration's
official position regarding the effect of immediate decontrol of
encryption technology on Israel.

       The potential consequences of an immediate decontrol of
     encryption exports is of international concern. This is not
     an issue for United States alone. As proposed in H.R. 695
     (the SAFE ACT), the immediate decontrol of encryption exports
     would likely result in the proliferation of strong encryption
     to entities such as terrorists groups which then could use
     encryption to hide their plans and intentions. Such a move
     will have a destabilizing effect on national security
     worldwide.

  The proponents of H.R. 695 maintain that our enemies and Israel's
enemies will eventually possess encryption technology. This may be
true, but fails to explain why we should rush to make this technology
available to our enemies. The United States and Israel need time to
develop a strategy and countermeasures to address these new
technologies

[[Page E533]]

and for this reason H.R. 695 should be opposed.

                          ____________________

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