American Library Association (ALA) welcomes introduction of Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act today in House of Representatives

Contact: Frank DiFulvio, Press Officer



202-628-840

For Immediate Release


June 11, 2003

American Library Association (ALA) welcomes introduction of Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act today in House of Representatives

“ALA strongly believes this bill will result in increased public oversight and greater government accountability”

(WASHINGTON DC) – The American Library Association (ALA) strongly supports the Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act, introduced today by Representatives Sam Farr (D-CA), Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA) and John Conyers (D-MI).
ALA strongly believes this bill will result in increased public oversight and review, the protection of established civil liberties, and government accountability pertaining to some provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.

“We have been trying to get such legislation passed since the USA PATRIOT Act first became law,” said ALA President Maurice J. (Mitch) Freedman. “History has taught us that our government works best when it is subject to constant public scrutiny and review, and the public trust is eroded when government works in secret – behind closed doors where only the powerful and the privileged reside.”

ALA President-Elect Dr. Carla Hayden concurred. “America's libraries will continue to support legislation like the Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act, which seeks to protect the many freedoms we enjoy as Americans – including the constitutional rights of our patrons,” she said.

ALA hopes this bill, and a similar one in the Senate introduced by Senators Grassley (R-IA), Leahy (D-VT), and Specter (PA), will move expeditiously through Congress and become law.