President Bush Tues. defended legislative proposal by Attorney Ge...
President Bush Tues. defended legislative proposal by Attorney Gen. John Ashcroft, which is undergoing what is proving to be lengthy review by Congress (CD Sept 25 p3). Ashcroft had asked for action on his proposal by the end of…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
last week, but it’s now at least week away on his proposal to expand wiretap and other surveillance authority in wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hours after congressional leaders had breakfast at White House Tues. and informed Bush that need for comprehensive review of legislation could delay passage for weeks, Bush called for quick action in speech at FBI to its employees. “I believe the Attorney General has taken some good ideas to Capitol Hill,” Bush said. “What we've seen is these terrorists are very sophisticated, and so are their communications… Therefore, we must give the FBI the ability to track calls when they make calls from different phones, for example.” “We ought to give the FBI the tools necessary to track down terrorists,” Bush said: “And so I hope Congress will listen to the wisdom of the proposals that the Attorney General brought up, to give the tools necessary to our agents in the field to find those who may think they want to disrupt America again.” Privacy advocates have raised concerns about various civil liberties issues in legislation and several groups have formed coalition calling for caution (WID Sept 21 p4). “I want you to know that every one of the proposals we've made on Capitol Hill, carried by the Attorney General, has been carefully reviewed,” Bush said: “They are measured requests, they are responsible requests, they are constitutional requests. Ours is a land that values the constitutional rights of every citizen. And we will honor those rights, of course. But we're at war, a war we're going to win. And in order to win the war, we must make sure that the law enforcement men and women have got the tools necessary, within the Constitution, to defeat the enemy.” Meanwhile, every member of Congress was privy Tues. to closed-door briefings by Secy. of State Colin Powell and Defense Secy. Donald Rumsfeld on latest efforts following attacks, with senators receiving first briefing. Such briefings usually occur only with members of House and Senate Intelligence Committees. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters briefings included latest information on building international coalition against terrorism, but pending legislation on new govt. surveillance powers also was expected to be raised.