[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            AMERICA'S POLICE OPPOSE THE SAFE ACT (H.R. 695)

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 31, 1998

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the National Sheriffs' Association, the 
Association of Chiefs of Police, the District Attorneys' Association, 
and The National Association of Attorneys General all oppose H.R. 695 
(The SAFE ACT). The members of these organizations are planning to 
visit with Members of Congress this Spring to urge opposition to the 
SAFE ACT.
  The Justice Department found that the bill would ``severely 
compromise law enforcement's ability to protect the American people 
from the threats posed by terrorists, organized crime, child 
pornographers . . . and other criminals,'' the President will veto the 
bill if it is presented to him in its current form.
  The so called SAFE ACT (H.R. 695) presents an extremely one-sided 
response to the encryption issue. The bill was drafted by and for the 
software industry, at the expense of the national security and public 
safety needs of the American people.
  In an editorial, The Washington Post declared that ``the real 
question is whether you believe this stuff poses a significant national 
security threat in the wrong hands. If you do--and we think it 
irresponsible to assume otherwise--then it's not enough to declare 
uncrackable privacy a civil right. You have to at least address the 
question of how to minimize intrusion into that right while preserving 
some ability to grapple with the potential danger.''
  The SAFE ACT (H.R. 695) is an unacceptable, unbalanced solution to 
the critical issue of encryption. it is imperative that the provisions 
included by the National Security Committee and the Intelligence 
Committee be incorporated into the Goodlatte bill in order to effect a 
compromise between the needs of industry and the legitimate law 
enforcement and international security needs of the American people. I 
respectfully request that you support a balanced encryption policy and 
oppose H.R. 695.

                          ____________________