-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20554.html <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20554.html">Political News from Wired News </A> ----- FBI Subdues 'Privacy Gone Crazy' by Declan McCullagh 3:00 a.m. 2.Jul.99.PDT WASHINGTON -- Law enforcement groups and their supporters in Congress rallied late Thursday to defeat a bank privacy proposal. Warning in the darkest terms that a plan to protect the confidentiality of bank records was "privacy gone crazy," opponents angrily denounced it on the floor of the House of Representatives. The House then rejected the reform package, 299-129, with only 12 Democrats supporting it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ See also: How to Reconcile Bank Privacy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Federal law requires banks to monitor their customers for suspicious or unusual behavior and submit a report to a massive database in Detroit jointly administered by the IRS and FinCEN, another Treasury Department agency. Those reports contain personal information, including the customer's Social Security number, bank account number, address, and phone number. A hastily assembled alliance of law-and-order conservatives and liberal Democrats predicted that a plan to reduce such surveillance of customers would turn the United States into "a money-laundering haven." "Say no to the dope dealers," said Representative Maxine Waters (D-California). "It guts existing money-laundering laws [and] sets the drug war back 20 years," said Representative Bill McCollum (R-Florida). Both said the FBI, the Justice Department, and the Treasury Department steadfastly opposed the proposal, and quoted from letters sent to Congress by the FBI and an association of police chiefs. The move was designed to portray the supporters of the amendment to the Financial Services Act of 1999 as extremists who would hamstring -- according to Representative John Dingell (D-Michigan) -- law enforcement's ability to investigate drug smugglers, the Mafia, and the Kali cartel. For the most part, it worked. The plan's backers appeared dogged but outflanked by the aggressive opposition, and their aides privately began girding themselves for defeat. "This notion that it is going to ruin law enforcement is just not valid," said Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas). "It protects the consumer. It protects the citizen." Representative Tom Campbell (R-California) said current law is an "invasion of individual liberty in the guise of law enforcement." The measure, backed by Paul, Campbell, and Georgia Republican Bob Barr, would have made federal laws requiring banks to report "suspicious transactions" more precise, and the rules requiring that banks report deposits or withdrawals of more than US$10,000 would in the future apply to amounts greater than $25,000. Paul and Barr tried to use the momentum against the reviled Know Your Customer monitoring plan to advance their amendment. The defeat by the full House means the amendment was not part of the financial modernization bill, which the chamber approved 343-83. Related Wired Links: Know Your (Customer) Rights 30.Jun.99 Anti-Privacy Bank Rules Crushed 5.Mar.99 Bank Plan May be Doomed 4.Mar.99 Foes Target 'Know Your Customer' 20.Jan.99 Banking with Big Brother 10.Dec.98 Copyright � 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. ----- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
