Data mining and the Senate

I hope this bill gets further in the new Senate than it did in the old one:

Washington, D.C. – As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to focus on the issue of data mining today, U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John Sununu (R-NH) have reintroduced legislation requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on the use and development of data mining programs. Feingold and Sununu previously introduced the legislation in the 109th Congress. The legislation requires all federal agencies to report to Congress, in classified form if need be, within 180 days and every year thereafter on certain data mining programs and how these programs impact the civil liberties and privacy of Americans.

"This bill is a way for Congress and the public to finally understand what is going on behind the closed doors of the executive branch so that we can start to have a policy discussion about data mining that is long overdue," Feingold said. "The possibility of unchecked, secret use of data mining technology threatens one of the most important values that we are fighting for in the war against terrorism – freedom."