December, 14 2010, 10:09am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jarrod Chlapowski: 202.349.1123 | Email: jchlapowski@
Alex Nicholson: 202.349.1126 | Email: anicholson@
Statement on the Introduction of Stand-Alone DADT Repeal Bill in the House of Representatives
WASHINGTON
Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans,
issued the following statement today regarding the introduction of a
stand-alone bill to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law in the House
of Representatives:
"The
swift introduction of an identical repeal bill in the House shows that
continued efforts to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' this year are
still very much alive and the process is moving forward," said
Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army interrogator who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"We are especially grateful to Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, and
Congressman Murphy for their commitment to drive on despite temporary
setbacks in the Senate."
For more information about Servicemembers United and "Don't Ask, Dont' Tell," please visit www.ServicemembersUnited.org.
For the most comprehensive collection of polling data, discharge
statistics, academic works, legislative and congressional material, and
more, visit www.DADTArchive.org.
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While applauding the U.S. House of Representatives' bipartisan passage of a bill to ensure that "law enforcement and intelligence agencies can't do an end-run around the Constitution by buying information from data brokers" on Wednesday, privacy advocates highlighted that Congress is trying to extend and expand a long-abused government spying program.
The House voted 219-199 for Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA), which won support from 96 Democrats and 123 Republicans, including the lead sponsor, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio). Named for the constitutional amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, H.R. 4639 would close what campaigners call the data broker loophole.
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Wednesday's vote followed the House sending the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act to the Senate. H.R. 7888 would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows for warrantless spying on noncitizens abroad but also sweeps up Americans' data.
The House notably included an amendment forcing a wide range of individuals and businesses to cooperate with government spying operations but rejected an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the bill, which the Senate could vote on as soon as Thursday.
Noting those decisions on the FISA reauthorization legislation, Ruddock stressed that "today's vote is a victory but follows a recent loss and ongoing threat as that Section 702 bill moves to the Senate this week too."
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Jeramie Scott, senior counsel and director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Project on Surveillance Oversight, also praised the House's FANFSA passage on Wednesday.
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Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU, similarly said Wednesday that "the bipartisan passage of this bill is a flashing warning sign to the government that if it wants our data, it must get a warrant."
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As The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw noted:
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