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New Security Bill Proposed
frdmfghtr writes "ZDnet is reporting on a new security bill coming up right before the election in November that is geared towards increasing security in the U.S. "One section anticipates storing the "lifetime travel history of each foreign national or United States citizen" into a database for the convenience of government officials." Senator McCain and HLS secretary Tom Ridge are mentioned specifically in the article: "McCain envisions erecting physical checkpoints, dubbed "screening points," near subways, airports, bus stations, train stations, federal buildings, telephone companies, Internet hubs and any other "critical infrastructure" facility deemed vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Secretary Tom Ridge would appear to be authorized to issue new federal IDs--with biometric identifiers--that Americans could be required to show at checkpoints." Reminds me not-so-vaguely of checkpoints in Soviet Russia where you needed papers to pass."
Time is of the essence on this one, as those campaigning in tight races need something to prop up their electoral base. Somehow I find it refreshing or disturbing that for the past few weeks I've had to call in to Washington three times for poor legislation. So here's the the deal.
The bill is S. 2845, and the portion of debate here is (Information Sharing) Sec. 206, among others. Find your Senators here. Then I want you to e-mail, call, whatever. I, personally, like to call and be firm but nonetheless polite. Don't contact Sen. McCain's office unless you're from Arizona: there is no, no, no, no national politic. None. Your message will be either be forwarded to your state Senators' offices or discarded, and I don't want some aide doing tallies to think that everybody who contacted them was from every state but the one with their voters.
E-mail will also work, and hell, if you have all of ten minutes and $2, consider writing a very basic letter and overnighting it USPS. Remember: you don't have to convince them, all you need to let them know is that you are opposed to it. Paper talks.
Except a quick check of the calendar at http://www.congress.gov/ shows that congress is not in session right now. The House has nothing on the schedule this week, and the Senate is not scheduled to convene until mid-November. Sigh. Can't journalists use the web yet?
just enter your ZIP code
http://thomas.loc.gov/r108/r108.html click senate, on sept 30th. Choose text of amendments. Look for pages s10154-s10155
Here are some interesting excerpts:
SEC. __01. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT RELATING TO IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS.
(a) ANTIFRAUD MEASURES FOR SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS.--Section 205(c)(2)(G) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(G)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(G)'';
(2) by striking ``banknote paper'' and inserting ``durable plastic or similar material''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new clauses:
``(ii) Each Social security card issued under this subparagraph shall include an encrypted electronic identification strip which
shall be unique to the individual to whom the card is issued and such biometric information as is determined by the Commissioner and
the Secretary of Homeland Security to be necessary for identifying the person to whom to the card is issued. The Commissioner shall
develop such electronic identification strip in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, so as to enable employers to
use such strip in accordance with section __03(b) of the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 to obtain access to the Employment
Eligibility Database established by such Secretary pursuant to section __02 of such Act with respect to the individual to whom the card
is issued.
SEC. __02. EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY DATABASE.
(a) IN GENERAL.--The Secretary of Homeland Security (hereinafter in this title referred to as ``the Secretary'') shall establish
and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database. The Database shall include data comprised of the citizenship status of individuals
and the work and residency eligibility information (including expiration dates) with respect to individuals who are not citizens or
nationals of the United States but are authorized to work in the United States. Such data shall include all such data maintained by
the Department of Homeland Security as of the date of the establishment of such database and information obtained from the Commissioner
of Social Security pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(I) of the Social Security Act. The Secretary shall maintain ongoing consultations with
the Commissioner to ensure efficient and effective operation of the Database.
(1) IN GENERAL.--No employer may employ an individual in the United States in any capacity if, as soon as practical after such
individual has been hired, such individual has not been verified by the employer to have a social security card issued to such individual
pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(G) of the Social Security Act and to be authorized to work in the United States in such capacity. Such
verification shall be made in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary for the purposes of ensuring against fraudulent use
of the card and accurate and prompt verification of the authorization of such individual to work in the United States in such capacity.
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.--Any person who--
(1) continues to employ an individual in the United States in any capacity who such person knows not to be authorized to work in
the United States in such capacity, or
(2) hires for employment any individual in the United States and fails to comply with the procedures prescribed by the Secretary
pursuant to section __03(b) in connection with the hiring of such individual,
[Page: S10156] GPO's PDF
shall upon conviction be fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both
SEC. __07. USE OF CARD; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this title shall be construed to establish a national identification card, and it
is the policy of the United States that the social security card shall not be used as a national identification
Service guarantees Citizenship! Questions Guarantee GITMO.... Amerika Uber Alles!
The original intent was to have the House more subject to the "whims" of the voters, all its members having to face election every other year, while Senators, with six-year terms, would be a bit safer from having to shift according to how the political "winds" were blowing. The Senate would then be able to take a longer-term view and offset some of the volatility of the House.
Ironically, despite having to face the voters three times as often as Senators, House members are now "safer" than Senators, because incumbents win (significantly) more frequently in the House than in the Senate. How can this be? Through the magic of gerrymandering. A Senator must face all the voters in his state. A member of the House need only face the voters in his own district, which in many cases was created to give his party an advantage there (whether his own party set it up to give him a safe seat or whether the other party set it up to concentrate his voters in one district and keep his party from winning two districts).
An interesting article on this subject appeared in The New Yorker late last year. The piece is sympathetic to the Dems in Texas who got squeezed by the unusual redistricting orchestrated there by Tom DeLay last year, but I think even Republican partisans might find the parts about the software available for gerrymandering and how fiendishly effective it is pretty interesting (especially since both parties have done their share of gerrymandering).
I personally see gerrymandering as a problem peculiar to two-party political systems. I also think it's one of the biggest problems in the US political system, but it is largely ignored by the media and most voters.
--Mark
"It is nice to know that the computer understands the problem. But I would like to understand it too." --Eugene Wigner