10.03.01

Senator Maria Cantwell Statement for the Record: U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee October 3, 2001

The events of September 11th have changed us as a country forever. The question that remains open is in what ways exactly will the change be reflected? We must do all that we can to stop terrorism by finding and disrupting terrorist activities here and abroad. But we must do this without compromising the values that make Americans unique and have allowed us to become great - value for the personal autonomy and rights of the individual and for the tolerance of all regardless of race or religion.

While I believe it is vitally important for our country to address pressing issues of national security including the gathering of intelligence information and rethinking how we coordinate domestic security at our borders, we must not lose sight of the principles our country is founded upon. We cannot and must not let the events of September 11 cause us to indulge in violence against others based on their race or their religious beliefs, and we cannot let fear of further terrorist events cause us to make decisions now that do damage to historic respect for the civil liberties and the privacy of individuals.

I have been disheartened that my state has seen incidences of hate crimes against Arab-Americans, Muslims and Sikhs in the wake of the attacks. In the most serious incident by far, an individual has already been charged with shooting at several people and setting fire to the cars of worshippers outside a mosque in Snohomish. In addition, Kulwinder Singh, a Sikh cabdriver, was harassed and physically assaulted by a passenger in King County, and over 40 students from the United Arab Emirates have withdrawn from Washington State University. In Shoreline, a city just outside Seattle, people apparently scoured the yellow pages searching for the word "Arab" only to leave a frightening message on the answering machine of the Arabic Language and Translation Service. I condemn this type of violence and hatred which merely compound the horror of loss of life as a result of the terrorist attacks.

Perhaps more alarming even than the physical violence and threats that have been made, are the new prejudices that face many of our citizens and residents. Our Arab and South Asian immigrants to Washington state sought to move to America not just for economic opportunity but for a way of life that embraced tolerance and diversity. Yet today they live in fear of their neighbors. People of Islamic faith, and others who fear that they may be confused for someone of Islamic faith hide in their homes, fearful they will be the target of persecution. This type of discrimination cannot stand. We cannot let the fear of unknown terrorists cause us to engage in the very type of intolerance and racial segregation that have dogged so many countries.

We in Washington state have amongst us, as reminders of the consequences of intolerance, many of the Japanese who were either interned themselves or have family members who were victims of internment. We cannot forget how unjustified our treatment of them was, and we must learn from them and our history that the face of the enemy must be distinguished from the physically similar face of our neighbors who are loyal Americans. We must not pass laws that give the government unfettered authority to indefinitely detain people who are legally in this country or who are permanent residents of this country. To do so is to reject the history and the lesson of the Japanese internment.

I have confidence that Americans are large enough in spirit to meet the challenge of tolerance, and that these instances of physical violence will not continue. I urge that we take a look inside ourselves and recognize that the pain we feel is the also the pain felt by people of Islamic faith, and others of Arab descent. They too are Americans. They are people of faith. There is no real "Islamic terrorist" - some terrorists may believe in Islam, others may have other religious beliefs - but it is the terrorism that we abhor, not the true religious belief, or those who simply share those beliefs.

I also believe that we face another challenge right now. That challenge rests largely with those who are members of the Judiciary Committees here in the Senate and in the House -- to stop and reflect how we can continue to balance the unique freedoms and rights that come to us as American citizens with the need to track and disrupt terrorists at work in this country and abroad.

We have good reason to change our laws to improve the ability of our law enforcement and intelligence communities to do their job. And I strongly support many of the changes this Committee has been considering. I am pleased that progress has been made on most of the contentious provisions and am very hopeful that we will be able soon to pass the legislation needed to address the immense problem of terrorism in this country and around the world.

However, we are moving at an incredible pace on some changes in law that will potentially effect Americans for a long time to come. Much of the debate really centers around lowering the standard for electronic eavesdropping by the government without abridging Americans' Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

I am particularly concerned about how we may expand wiretap authority under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - make no mistake about it - if not done right, these changes can affect the ability of the government to wiretap the lines of American citizens - not just foreign terrorists.

Further, I hope that we can enact the provisions authorizing law enforcement to access certain aspects of electronic communications in the same way they can get telephone numbers. But we must make sure that the scope of the provision is narrow and does not allow access to the content of communications without a separate showing to a judge.

I believe that law enforcement does need some new tools to meet the challenge of fighting terrorism. However it is even more crucial to promote the sharing and coordination of information among agencies that have traditionally had separate responsibilities that now intersect in the effort to fight terrorism. I am determined that the fight against terrorism requires not just law enforcement tools and wiretaps but rather requires us to develop the single best most coordinated effort of sharing and analyzing information to disrupt terrorist planning and rout out terrorist sympathizers. And a key part of this effort must be the development of a better system for granting visas such that we know who is coming in to our country and we are able to stop them at our borders. Technology now exists that allows agencies to share information about suspected terrorist affiliates in real time and such capabilities should be better utilized.

While I am not the first or the last to say it, it remains an essential truth that if we surrender our unique freedoms and rights, that the terrorists have inflicted a harm even greater than the calamitous deaths of thousands of innocent civilians and the destruction of symbols of American innovation and power. We must not as citizens or as legislators act out of fear to damage our tradition of tolerance or curtail our rights and liberties.