Thomas Daschle: “Late yesterday several of my colleagues took to the floor to discuss their views on the need for congressional action on…”

“Late yesterday several of my colleagues took to the floor to discuss their views on the need for congressional action on encryption legislation. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly provide my thoughts on this important issue. As everyone who follows encryption policy knows, despite years of discussion and debate, we still have not found a solution that is acceptable to industry, consumers, law enforcement and national security agencies. In this Congress alone, we have seen 7 competing bills introduced--3 in the House and 4 in the Senate. The country is paying a price for this inability to produce a consensus solution. That price is evident not only in loss of market share and constraint on internet commerce, but also in the steady erosion of the ability of law enforcement's and national security agencies' to monitor criminal activity or activities that threaten our national interest. We simply must find a comprehensive national policy that protects both U.S. national security and U.S. international market share--sooner rather than later. And I believe we can.”