[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 31 (Monday, March 1, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E297]]



           SECURITY AND FREEDOM THROUGH ENCRYPTION (SAFE) ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 1, 1999

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased, along with 204 of my 
colleagues, to introduce the Security And Freedom through Encryption 
(SAFE) Act of 1999.
  This much-needed, bipartisan legislation accomplishes several 
important goals. First, it aids law enforcement by preventing piracy 
and white-collar crime on the Internet. If an ounce of prevention is 
worth a pound of cure, then an ounce of encryption is worth a pound of 
subpoenas. With the speed of transactions and communications on the 
Internet, law enforcement cannot possibly deal with pirates and 
criminal hackers by waiting to react until after the fact.
  Only by allowing the use of strong encryption, not only domestically 
but internationally as well, can we hope to make the Internet a safe 
and secure environment. As the National Research Council's Committee on 
National Cryptography Policy concluded, ``If cryptography can protect 
the trade secrets and proprietary information of businesses and thereby 
reduce economic espionage (which it can), it also supports in a most 
important manner the job of law enforcement. If cryptography can help 
protect nationally critical information systems and networks against 
unauthorized penetration (which it can), it also supports the national 
security of the United States.''
  Second, if electronic commerce is to reach its true potential, 
consumers and companies alike must have the confidence that their 
communications and transactions will be secure. The SAFE Act, by 
allowing all Americans to use the highest technology and strongest 
security available, will provide them with that confidence.
  Third, with the availability of strong encryption overseas and on the 
Internet, our current export controls only serve to tie the hands of 
American business. According to a number of industry studies, failure 
to remove our export controls will cost our economy hundreds of 
thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars.
  The SAFE Act remedies this situation by allowing the export of 
generally available encryption products without a license, and custom-
designed encryption products if they are approved for use by banks or 
are commercially available from foreign companies. Removing these 
export barriers will free U.S. industry to remain the world leader in 
software, hardware, and Internet development. And by allowing the U.S. 
computer industry to use and export the highest technology available 
with the strongest security features available, America will be leading 
the way into the 21st century information age and beyond.
  This bipartisan legislation enjoys the support of members and 
organizations across the spectrum of all ideological and political 
beliefs. Groups as varied as Americans for Computer Privacy, American 
Civil Liberties Union, National Rifle Association, Law Enforcement 
Alliance of America, Americans for Tax Reform, Netscape, America 
Online, Microsoft, Business Software Alliance, Novell, Lotus, Adobe, 
Electronic Industries Alliance, Software and Information Industry 
Association, Information Technology Association of America, Citizens 
for a Sound Economy, Telecommunications Industry Association, Computer 
Electronics Manufacturers Association, U.S. Telephone Association, SBC 
Communications, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, U.S. West, Competitive 
Enterprise Institute, Business Leadership Council, IBM, Small Business 
Survival Committee, Sybase, RSA Data Security, Semiconductor Industry 
Association, Telecommunications Industry Association, Center for 
Democracy and Technology, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Direct 
Marketing Association, American Financial Services Association, Intel, 
Compaq, Network Associates, National Association of Manufacturers 
strongly support this legislation, to name just a few.
  The SAFE Act enjoys this support not only because it is a common-
sense approach to solving a very immediate problem, but also because 
ordinary Americans' personal privacy and computer security is being 
assaulted by this Administration. Amazingly enough, the Administration 
wants to mandate a back door into peoples' computer systems in order to 
access their private information and confidential communications. In 
fact, the Administration has said that if private citizens and 
companies do not ``voluntarily'' create this back door, it will seek 
legislation forcing Americans to give the government access to their 
information by means of a ``key escrow'' system requiring computer 
users to put the keys to decode their encrypted communications into a 
central data bank. This is the technological equivalent of mandating 
that the federal government be given a key to every home in America.
  The SAFE Act, on the other hand, will prevent the Administration from 
placing roadblocks on the information superhighway by prohibiting the 
government from mandating a back door into the computer systems of 
private citizens and businesses. Additionally, the SAFE Act ensures 
that all Americans have the right to choose any security system to 
protect their confidential information.
  Mr. Speaker, with the millions of communications, transmissions, and 
transactions that occur on the Internet every day, American citizens 
and businesses must have the confidence that their private information 
and communications are safe and secure. That is precisely what the SAFE 
Act will ensure. I urge each of my colleagues to join and support this 
bipartisan effort.
  The original cosponsors are Representatives Lofgren, Armey, DeLay, 
Watts, Tom Davis, Cox, Pryce, Blunt, Gephardt, Bonior, Frost, DeLauro, 
John Lewis, Gejdenson, Sensenbrenner, Gekas, Coble, Lamar Smith, 
Gallegly, Bryant, Chabot, Barr, Hutchinson, Pease, Cannon, Rogan, Bono, 
Bachus, Conyers, Frank, Boucher, Nadler, Jackson-Lee, Waters, Meehan, 
Delahunt, Wexler, Ackerman, Andrews, Archer, Ballenger, Barcia, Bill 
Barrett, Tom Barrett, Barton, Bilbray, Blumenauer, Boehner, Kevin 
Brady, Robert Brady, Corrine Brown, George Brown, Burr, Burton, Camp, 
Campbell, Capps, Chambliss, Chenoweth, Christian-Christensen, Clayton, 
Clement, Clyburn, Collins, Cook, Cooksey, Cubin, Cummings, Cunningham, 
Danny Davis, Deal, DeFazio, Deutsch, Dickey, Dooley, Doolittle, Doyle, 
Dreier, Duncan, Dunn, Ehlers, Emerson, English, Eshoo, Ewing, Farr, 
Filner, Ford, Fossella, Franks, Gillmor, Goode, Goodling, Gordon, 
Green, Gutknecht, Ralph Hall, Hastings, Herger, Hill, Hobson, Hoekstra, 
Holden, Hooley, Horn, Houghton, Inslee, Istook, Jackson, Jr., 
Jefferson, E.B. Johnson, Nancy Johnson, Kanjorski, Kasich, Kelly, 
Kilpatrick, Kind, Kingston, Knollenberg, Kolbe, Lampson, Largent, 
Latham, Lee, Ron Lewis, Linder, Frank Lucas, Luther, Karen McCarthy, 
McDermott, McGovern, McIntosh, Maloney, Manzullo, Markey, Martinez, 
Matsui, Meek, Metcalf, Mica, Millender-McDonald, George Miller, 
Moakley, Jim Moran, Morella, Myrick, Napolitano, Neal, Nethercutt, 
Norwood, Nussle, Olver, Packard, Pallone, Pastor, Collin Peterson, 
Pickering, Pombo, Pomeroy, Price, Quinn, Radanovich, Rahall, Rangel, 
Reynolds, Rivers, Rohrabacher, Ros-Lehtinen, Rush, Salmon, Sanchez, 
Sanders, Sanford, Scarborough, Schaffer, Sessions, Shays, Sherman, 
Shimkus, Adam Smith, Chris Smith, Souder, Stabenow, Stark, Sununu, 
Tanner, Tauscher, Tauzin, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Thune, Tiahrt, 
Tierney, Upton, Vento, Walsh, Wamp, Watkins, Weller, Whitfield, Wicker, 
Woolsey, and Wu.

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