Homeland Security
Millions of Americans have their closest encounter with the new Department of Homeland Security when they pass through TSA security checkpoints at our airports. As a frequent flier for many years, I share the common desire for safety in transportation, but I have also observed how our indiscriminate inspections cannot possibly keep pace with a criminal's intent to penetrate our system. As some leaders have observed, we have to be 100% foolproof, while the criminal needs only to succeed once. As long as it takes for legislation to be responsive to new threats and as much as we reject practices that seem to "profile" individuals, it is important to admit that these goals are at cross-purposes. We can do better.
I support new practices that allow the voluntary pre-clearance of frequent travelers but more needs to be done: more than a decade after 9/11, cargo transiting our airports and harbors is still too vulnerable. Cyber-security is an essential 21st century priority that demands the involvement of our best and brightest technology experts. Clearly, citizens have expressed their willingness to surrender certain information about their identity and whereabouts in exchange for the conveniences and benefits that are delivered through their computers, automobiles and mobile devices. For more than 200 years, the Post Office has had the ability to use the return address on any mailed article to know who we correspond with. With this in mind, I am comfortable with the fact that the NSA monitors the metadata surrounding citizens' electronic communications, provided that the content of the communication remains private, until and unless probable cause is shown to require deeper investigation.
Millions of Americans have their closest encounter with the new Department of Homeland Security when they pass through TSA security checkpoints at our airports. As a frequent flier for many years, I share the common desire for safety in transportation, but I have also observed how our indiscriminate inspections cannot possibly keep pace with a criminal's intent to penetrate our system. As some leaders have observed, we have to be 100% foolproof, while the criminal needs only to succeed once. As long as it takes for legislation to be responsive to new threats and as much as we reject practices that seem to "profile" individuals, it is important to admit that these goals are at cross-purposes. We can do better.
I support new practices that allow the voluntary pre-clearance of frequent travelers but more needs to be done: more than a decade after 9/11, cargo transiting our airports and harbors is still too vulnerable. Cyber-security is an essential 21st century priority that demands the involvement of our best and brightest technology experts. Clearly, citizens have expressed their willingness to surrender certain information about their identity and whereabouts in exchange for the conveniences and benefits that are delivered through their computers, automobiles and mobile devices. For more than 200 years, the Post Office has had the ability to use the return address on any mailed article to know who we correspond with. With this in mind, I am comfortable with the fact that the NSA monitors the metadata surrounding citizens' electronic communications, provided that the content of the communication remains private, until and unless probable cause is shown to require deeper investigation.