[Congressional Record: September 10, 2009 (Extensions)]
[Page E2243]




   INTRODUCTION OF UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON AN OPEN SOCIETY WITH
                          SECURITY ACT OF 2009

                                 ______


                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 2009

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the United States
Commission on an Open Society with Security Act which expresses an idea
I began working on when the first signs of the closing of parts of our
open society appeared after the Oklahoma City bombing tragedy, well
before 9/11. I introduce this bill on the eighth anniversary of 9/11
because this bill grows more urgent as an increasing variety of
security measures proliferate throughout the country without any
thought about their effect on common freedoms and ordinary access, and
without any guidance from the government or elsewhere. The introduction
of this bill also precedes my upcoming September 22nd hearing on
federal building security, which has gotten so out of control that a
tourist passing by a federal building cannot even get in to use the
restroom or enjoy the many restaurant facilities located in areas
otherwise bereft of such opportunities. The security in federal
buildings has too long resided only in the hands of non-security
experts who do not take into account actual threats, and as a result,
spend lavish amounts on needless security procedures. For example, the
Government Accountability Office completed sting operations this year,
carrying bomb making materials into 10 high-security federal buildings
and assembling them in the bathrooms. This scandal shines a light on
the failure to use risk-based assessments in allocations of resources.
  The bill I introduce today would begin a systematic investigation
that takes full account of the importance of maintaining our democratic
traditions while responding adequately to the real and substantial
threats terrorism poses. To accomplish its difficult mission, the
Commission created by this bill would be composed not only of military
and security experts, but for the first time, they would be at the same
table with experts from such fields as business, architecture,
technology, law, city planning, art, engineering, philosophy, history,
sociology, and psychology. To date, questions of security most often
have been left almost exclusively to security and military experts.
They are indispensable participants, but these experts cannot alone
resolve all the new and unprecedented issues raised by terrorism in an
open society. In order to strike the balance required by our democratic
traditions, a diverse group of experts needs to be working together at
the same table.
  For years before our eyes, parts of our open society have gradually
been closed down because of terrorism and the fear of terrorism--
whether checkpoints on streets near the Capitol even when there were no
alerts, to applications of technology without regard to their effects
on privacy. We have also seen heightened controversy, litigation,
hearings, legislation and court decisions because of the use of
technology that intercepts terrorist communications but also covers
communications among Americans.
  Following the unprecedented terrorist attack on our country on 9/11,
Americans expected additional and increased security adequate to
protect citizens against this frightening threat. However, in our
country, people also expect government to be committed and smart enough
to undertake this awesome new responsibility without depriving them of
their personal liberty. These years in our history will long be
remembered by the rise of terrorism in the world and in this country
and the unprecedented challenges they have brought. We must provide
ever-higher levels of security for our people and public spaces while
maintaining a free and open democratic society. Yet, this is no
ordinary war that we expect to be over in a matter of years. The end
point could be generations from now. The indeterminate nature of the
threat adds to the necessity of putting aside ad hoc approaches to
security developed in isolation from the goal of maintaining an open
society.
  When we have faced unprecedented and perplexing issues in the past,
we have had the good sense to investigate them deeply and to move to
resolve them. Examples include the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), the
Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States
Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (also known as the Silberman-Robb
Commission) and the Kerner Commission that investigated the riotous
uprisings that swept American cities in the 1960s and 1970s. The
important difference in this bill is that the Commission seeks to act
before a crisis-level erosion of basic freedoms takes hold and becomes
entrenched. Because global terrorism is likely to be long lasting, we
cannot afford to allow the proliferation of security that neither
requires nor is subject to advance civilian oversight or analysis of
alternatives and repercussions on freedom and commerce.
  With no vehicles for leadership on issues of security and openness,
we have been left to muddle through, using blunt 19th century
approaches, such as crude blockades, unsightly barriers around
beautiful monuments and other signals that the society is closing down,
without appropriate exploration of possible alternatives. The threat of
terrorism to an open society is too serious to be left to ad hoc
problem-solving. Such approaches are often as inadequate as they are
menacing.
  We can do better, but only if we recognize and then come to grips
with the complexities associated with maintaining a society of free and
open access in a world characterized by unprecedented terrorism. The
place to begin is with a high-level presidential commission of experts
in a broad spectrum of disciplines who can help chart the new course
that will be required to protect our people and our precious democratic
institutions and traditions.

                          ____________________

HR 3555 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3555

To establish the United States Commission on an Open Society with Security.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 10, 2009

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish the United States Commission on an Open Society with Security.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

SEC. 6. PERSONNEL MATTERS.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

END