Science Subcommittee Asks GAO to Investigate FBI Data Mining

[babylonsister]

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=478

Science Subcommittee Asks GAO to Investigate FBI Data Mining

June 12th, 2007 by Jesse Lee

Exclusive: FBI Data Mining Program Raises Eyebrows in Congress
Justin Rood, ABC News - June 5, 2007

Lawmakers are questioning whether a proposed FBI anti-terrorist program is worth the price, both in taxpayer dollars and the possible loss of Americans’ privacy.

The National Security Analysis Center (NSAC) would bring together nearly 1.5 billion records created or collected by the FBI and other government agencies, a figure the FBI expects to quadruple in coming years, according to an unclassified FBI budget document obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Those numbers alone raised concerns from two congressmen, Reps. Brad Miller, D-Calif., and James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-Wisc., the chair and ranking member of the oversight panel of the House Science and Technology Committee.

The FBI has a track record of improperly — even illegally — gathering personal information on Americans, most recently through the widespread abuse of so-called National Security Letters, the two men noted in a letter to Congress’ investigative body, the Government Accountability Office.

Miller and Sensenbrenner asked GAO to determine whether the NSAC will include records on U.S. citizens, and whether there are protections in place to make sure all the data in the program was legally collected.

Full letter at link~

[bobthedrummer]

1. Sensenbrenner is in league with Saleh Kamel, still this deserves a kick

[Rex]

2. Slap a patch on it and kick it out the door.

The GAO been saying it for years, the books, the country, everything the Bush does, fucks up this country way beyond what we can think of.

I hope something good comes from this.