Jay Inslee: “This bill will create the Department of Homeland Security, an agency charged with safeguarding Americans and the…”

“This bill will create the Department of Homeland Security, an agency charged with safeguarding Americans and the American way of life. When enacting this bill, we must be careful not stray into invading American's privacy when using the regulatory tools provided for in this bill. I refer specifically to the vague authorizations in this bill that would give this new Federal agency broad authority to push the privacy envelope. Section 201, paragraph 14, charges the Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure with the responsibility of establishing a secure communications and information technology infrastructure that specifically authorizes the use of 'Data-mining.' Since 'Data-mining' has no statutory definition, I am concerned that we have not adequately established that the Department of Homeland Security does not have the green light to adopt an all encompassing program that invades the privacy of every American without their permission or knowledge. We cannot allow this to happen.”