Congressional Record: January 17, 2003 (Senate)
Page S1132-S1134

 
    MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003--
                               Continued

[...]

 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to have submitted an 
amendment dealing with the Total Information Awareness Program at the 
DOD. Many of my colleagues may know about this program designed to test 
technologies that collect information from public and private databases 
and try to find trends that could signal threats against the United 
States. Like many people, I have been concerned that this program could 
be used to invade the privacy of Americans by snooping around in our 
bank accounts, personal internet computers, phone records, and the 
like. In November of last year, I asked the DOD Inspector General to 
look into the purposes of TIA and to make sure that there are 
appropriate controls in place to ensure that it is used only for 
foreign intelligence purposes to protect us against terrorism and 
foreign threats, but not on Americans or for domestic crime fighting. I 
am told that the IG investigation is proceeding, and that the IG has 
ordered a formal audit of TIA.
  This amendment limits the use of the TIA funds appropriated by 
Congress to foreign intelligence purposes. DOD will be required to tell 
Congress what it is doing regarding TIA, and keep us in the loop on 
developments. It also provides that TIA can't be used on U.S. citizens 
once it is up and running.
  But the amendment allows development of TIA to continue for foreign 
terrorism purposes. So it is a great compromise in that it allows the 
development of TIA to help track international terrorism, but protects 
against abuses that could violate the privacy of our own people. I 
encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.