U.S. Representative Robert R. Simmons (R-Ct) Holds a Hearing On the Department of Homeland Security and Personal Privacy

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U.S. Representative Robert R. Simmons (R-Ct) Holds a Hearing On the Department of Homeland Security and Personal Privacy

HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY: SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, INFORMATION SHARING, AND TERRORISM RISK ASSESSMENT HOLDS A HEARING ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND PERSONAL PRIVACY

APRIL 6, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ROB SIMMONS (R-CT) CHAIRMAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CURT WELDON (R-PA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MARK SOUDER (R-IN) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DANIEL LUNGREN (R-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JIM GIBBONS (R-NV) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE STEVE PEARCE (R-NM) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BOBBY JINDAL (R-LA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE CHARLES DENT (R-PA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE PETER KING (R-NY) EX OFFICIO

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA) RANKING MEMBER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE LORETTA SANCHEZ (D-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JANE HARMAN (D-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE NITA M. LOWEY (D-NY) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JAMES LANGEVIN (D-RI) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE KENDRICK MEEK (D-FL) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS) EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: MAUREEN COONEY, ACTING CHIEF PRIVACY OFFICER, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

KEITH HERATH, CHIEF PRIVACY OFFICER, AVP-ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANIES

JONATHAN TURLEY, SHAPIRO PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC INTEREST LAW, GEORGE WASHINGTON LAW SCHOOL

LIEUTENANT GENERAL PATRICK HUGHES (USA RET.), VICE PRESIDENT, HOMELAND SECURITY L-3 COMMUNICATIONS

[*] SIMMONS: The subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on the protection of privacy in the Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise. We'll be hearing testimony from four witnesses today. Our first panel, we'll hear from Ms. Maureen Cooney, acting chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security.

On our second panel, we'll hear from Mr. Kirk Herath, chief privacy officer and associate general counsel at the Nationwide Insurance Companies; Mr. Jonathan Turley, Shapiro professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School; and Lieutenant General Patrick Hughes, vice president of Homeland Security at L-3 Communications.

And I thank all of our panelists for coming today.

The right to privacy is implicit in the Fourth Amendment right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and it shall not be violated.

It's embedded in the founding ideals of this nation. Justice William O. Douglas in Griswold v. Connecticut wrote that the right to privacy is, quote, "older than the Bill of Rights, older than our political parties."

We're all acutely aware of the privacy issues facing the government today, especially as the president and Congress work to defend America against those who wish to commit mass murder.

And I remind my colleagues and others of a passage in the 9/11 Commission report, which states, "We learned that the institutions charged with protecting our borders, civil aviation and national security did not understand how grave this threat could be and did not adjust their polices, plans and practices to deter or defeat it. We learned of fault lines within our government between the foreign and domestic intelligence and between and within agencies.

"We learned of the pervasive problems of managing and sharing information across large and unwieldy government that has been built in a different era to confront different dangers. We hope that the terrible losse...

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