Tom Udall: “I thank the chairman for graciously accepting this amendment. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is a simple and…”

“I thank the chairman for graciously accepting this amendment. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is a simple and straightforward way of ensuring that our privacy rights and civil liberties are adequately protected. We all should applaud the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board in the Intelligence Reform bill. Recognizing that many of their recommendations called for increased government powers, the 9/11 Commissioners unanimously expressed the need for a viable Privacy and Civil Liberties Board to strike the right balance. They said that the choice between security and liberty is a false choice. They are right. I was pleased that, after calling on President Bush last Spring to put forth his nominations and appointments for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board, he did so on June 10th. The sooner we can get the Board up and running, the better. If we want to take this Board seriously the current level of funding is clearly inadequate; $750,000 is simply not enough for a Board charged with monitoring privacy and civil liberties implications of Federal regulations, executive branch policies and procedures, and public law.…”