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“SUPPORTING INTELLIGENCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS TO TRACK TERRORISTS AND TERRORIST FINANCES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1407-E1408 on July 13, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SUPPORTING INTELLIGENCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS TO TRACK
TERRORISTS AND TERRORIST FINANCES
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speech of
HON. CAROLYN C. KILPATRICK
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, last week when we voted on H. Res. 895, a resolution condemning the disclosure of classified information, and more specifically, the information about our government's monitoring of international financial transactions, I voted in opposition to the measure, and I would like to take this opportunity to explain my position.
I join my colleague from Massachusetts, Mr. Frank, and others in supporting an alternative resolution, H. Res. 900, which also condemns the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, but does so in a way that is less partisan and more ingenuous. H. Res. 895 contains a number of statements that are passed off as fact but whose veracity is dubious and not substantiated through congressional inquiry.
I regret that the majority saw fit to bring a resolution to the floor which deprived Democrats from providing any input into the framing of the measure. I do think that it was possible to produce a bin behind which both parties could unite, if the majority were interested in reaching a consensus. Obviously, it was not interested in forging a consensus statement, so we debated a political document instead of substantive initiative.
H. Res. 895, as written, states facts, which frankly, are either in substantial dispute or subject to question. For example, did the news media inappropriately and illegally disclose information regarding the SWIFT financial monitoring program, or was this information in the public domain? There are credible people ``in the know'' who claim the information was publicly available if anyone cared to conduct a little research.
According to one former State Department diplomat and U.N. monitor, the information on the SWIFT financial transaction monitoring program was incorporated in a report to the U.N. Security Council in 2002 and is available on the U.N. website. The SWIFT program has been in the public domain for quite some time.
Additionally, the resolution contains a clause that the appropriate committees in Congress were notified of the program. As we heard during the debate on the bill, that is another fact in dispute by Democrats who serve on the Select Committee on Intelligence.
I, therefore, voted against H. Res. 895 and announce my support for the alternative introduced by Mr. Frank, which the majority has seen fit to deny us the opportunity to consider.
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