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Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 175) to amend title 18, United States Code, to authorize the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain certain telephone subscriber information.

The Clerk read as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REQUIRED CERTIFICATION.

Section 2709(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

`(b) Required Certification: The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or his designee in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director, may--

`(1) request the name, address, length of service, and toll billing records of a person or entity if the Director (or his designee in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director) certifies in writing to the wire or electronic communication service provider to which the request is made that--

`(A) the name, address, length of service, and toll billing records sought are relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation; and

`(B) there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person or entity to whom the information sought pertains is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power as defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801); and

`(2) request the name, address, and length of service of a person or entity if the Director (or his designee in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director) certifies in writing to the wire or electronic communication service provider to which the request is made that--

`(A) the information sought is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation; and

`(B) there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that communication facilities registered in the name of the person or entity have been used, through the services of such provider, in communication with--

`(i) an individual who is engaging or has engaged in international terrorism as defined in section 101(c) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or clandestine intelligence activities that involve or may involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States; or

`(ii) a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power under circumstances giving reason to believe that the communication concerned international terrorism as defined in section 101(c) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or clandestine intelligence activities that involve or may involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States.'.

SEC. 2. REPORT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEES.

Section 2709(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding after `Senate' the following: `, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate,'.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brooks] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hyde] will be recognized for 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brooks].

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. BROOKS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 175 amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to permit the FBI to have access--without a court order--to name, address, and length of service information for certain phone subscribers. More specifically, it modestly expands the FBI's so-called national security letter access to phone company information regarding subscribers who are in contact with either first, terrorists or foreign intelligence officers, or second, any agent of a foreign power if the conversation concerns terrorism or illegal intelligence activities. The FBI must report its use of this authority to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

The language of this bill has been arrived at through discussions with the FBI over the past several years. The provisions of H.R. 175 are identical to a section included in the crime conference report in the 102d Congress.

I offer my special congratulations to Mr. Edwards, chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, for successfully taking the lead in negotiating this necessary but carefully circumscribed provision. I also wish to recognize Mr. Hyde, ranking member of the subcommittee, for his good efforts on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House to support H.R. 175.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. HYDE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, this legislation will allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain telephone subscriber information relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation in certain limited circumstances.

Under the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, the FBI has the authority to obtain the telephone toll records of a suspected agent of a foreign power or a suspected international terrorist. Often when the FBI receives the toll records, however, some of the numbers are unlisted and the phone company cannot reveal the name and address of the unlisted subscriber. This legislation will modestly expand the authority of the FBI by allowing them to obtain the names and addresses for the unlisted phone numbers only where there is reason to believe that the telephone conversation was with an individual engaged in international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.

I urge the adoption of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas].

(Mr. GEKAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to indicate my support for this bill, but I do want to bring to the attention of the Members, and specifically to direct my comments to the chairman of the committee, that the request that was made by the Justice Department to consider this very legislation was well timed and very much necessary.

[TIME: 1540]

A similar request has been undertaken the last several years to do a similar thing with some parts of our domestic communications arena. The same Justice Department, albeit under different chieftains, has felt that where the communications industry has refused by their interpretation of the Communications Act to accord access to certain public information at a time of emergency without a court order, we have sought in legislation that we have introduced to at least allow the quick response by written request or by oral request for an emergency situation that arises from this type of situation.

The Justice Department has asked us to produce that. We have done so in the last several years.

Now, in the committee hearing that we had several days ago, the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from California [Mr. Edwards], very kindly acknowledged that a request that we would make for a separate proceeding to determine the merits of my legislation would be given consideration, and for that I am grateful.

I just simply want to point out that we have a tandem here. The Justice Department requests the legislation that is in front of us; the Justice Department has requested the legislation that I seek; the Justice Department feels there is a tremendous loophole that is being used by foreign entities in this case. The same kind of loophole exists as to domestic entities in ours. The tandem allows us to request the consideration that has already been accorded to us by the gentleman from California.

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from California [Mr. Edwards].

(Mr. EDWARDS of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. EDWARDS of California. Mr. Speaker, this bill modestly expands the FBI's authority to obtain without a court order information identifying subscribers of unlisted telephone numbers. The language was carefully worked out among the FBI, the two Judiciary Committees and the two Intelligence Committees in the last Congress. I especially want to thank the House Intelligence Committee and its chairman, Mr. Glickman, for their support and assistance on this important matter.

This bill is identical to legislation that was reported favorably by the subcommittee and full committee last Congress. The language passed the House twice, once as part of the crime bill and once freestanding. It also passed the Senate, but in a different vehicle, and never made it to the President's desk.

This bill is very relevant to the ongoing investigation of the World Trade Center bombing. It allows the FBI to identify persons in telephone contact with suspected foreign spies or terrorists. Normally, telephone toll records and information identifying subscribers with unlisted phone numbers are private and the phone company will not disclose the identity of the subscriber without a subpoena. This bill allows the FBI to obtain the identity of subscribers where there is a suspected link with espionage or terrorism.

It is a modest change, but one that is very important to the FBI. We have struck a careful balance between the needs of the FBI and the privacy of Americans.

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Coleman], a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

(Mr. COLEMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 175, which concerns a matter within the jurisdiction of both the Committee on the Judiciary and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

H.R. 175 represents a very narrow and carefully drawn expansion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's authority to utilize the national security letter under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act [ECPA].

ECPA was enacted in 1986 to provide privacy protection to telephone subscriber information and toll billing records. In general, Government entities may only have access to this information, without the subscriber's consent, pursuant to a subpoena, court order or search warrant, and only if the information is relevant to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry. ECPA provides an exception for counterintelligence cases, however, and thus allows the FBI to obtain subscriber information and toll billing records where the FBI certifies in writing to the telephone company that the information sought is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation and the subscriber is believed to be a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.

A national security letter is an extraordinary device which allows the FBI to compel the production of information without the judicial review and the association with a criminal investigation normally required by law. Expansion of the reach of the national security letter is not to be undertaken lightly.

Nevertheless, in the last two Congresses, the FBI made a persuasive case to the Judiciary Committee on Civil and Constitutional Law and to the Intelligence Subcommittee on Legislation which I now chair, that the national security letter should be available in cases in which individuals contact suspected foreign intelligence officers or suspected terrorists, or where the substance of the conversation concerns international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities that may involve spying or an offer of sensitive information protected by law. These conversations in which individuals volunteer to commit espionage are not now covered by the national security letter exception. In fact, the FBI argues it might have been able to prevent the compromise of highly sensitive information given to the U.S.S.R. by Ronald Pelton, a former employee of the National Security Agency, if it had had this expanded authority.

The Subcommittee on Legislation held hearings on this issue in 1990 and 1991. The FBI originally proposed that phone companies be required to identify all persons who had been in touch with foreign powers or suspected agents of foreign powers. This language would have been too broad and not narrowly focused on the FBI's demonstrable needs.

The Intelligence Committee worked closely with the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Law to fashion an amendment to ECPA that would address the legitimate concerns of the FBI in a way that is sensitive to the dangers inherent in the national security letter exception. The legislation was originally included in the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1991, which was not enacted last year. Chairman Edwards and his staff are to be congratulated on their leadership on this issue and their persistence in moving the negotiations and the legislation forward over several years.

H.R. 175 amends ECPA to allow the FBI to request the name, address, and length of service of a telephone subscriber where the FBI certifies in writing to the telephone company that the telephone service has been used to contact a suspected foreign intelligence officer or suspected terrorist, or the circumstances surrounding the conversation indicated that the conversation involved international terrorism or an offer to spy.

H.R. 175 is a delicate balance between our desire to give the FBI the means to fight terrorism and espionage and our responsibility to protect individuals from unreasonable intrusion by the Government. I assure my colleagues that the Intelligence Committee will continue vigorous oversight of the FBI's use of national security letters and urge their support for the legislation.

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[TIME: 1550]

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Glickman], the distinguished chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. GLICKMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my chairman, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brooks] for yielding this time to me. I have had the privilege of serving on that committee as well and I compliment the gentleman from California [Mr. Edwards] who has been a leader in this effort to draw the balance between giving the FBI the necessary law enforcement tools to deal with terrorism and espionage, at the same time protecting civil liberties. I think this bill reflects that compromise.

Mr. Speaker, monitoring the foreign counterintelligence and counterterrorism activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] is a responsibility shared by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Judiciary Committee.

The legislation now under consideration, H.R. 175, represents a resolution to a problem first brought to the committees' attention several years ago. Under existing law, the FBI has the ability, through use of a device known as a national security letter, to compel the production of telephone subscriber information and telephone billing records when the subscriber is believed to be a foreign power or agent of a foreign power, and the information is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation. The national security letter is not, however, currently available to assist in the identification of the users of telephone service when the service has been employed to contact a suspected foreign intelligence officer or suspected terrorist, or to conduct conversations involving terrorism or an offer to commit espionage.

In 1990 and 1991, the Intelligence Subcommittee on Legislation conducted hearings on an FBI request to expand the permissible use of the national security letter to cover all contacts with foreign powers or agents of foreign powers. Concerned that the Bureau's request was too broad to justify the utilization of an extrajudicial procedure like the national security letter, the subcommittee refused to endorse it. In the fall of 1991, however, hard work on the part of Chairman Edwards and his staff, and FBI representatives, resulted in a narrowing of the reach of the requested expansion, and a provision identical to H.R. 175 was made a part of the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1991. That provision had the support of the Intelligence Committee, and H.R. 175 does as well.

Mr. Speaker, Congress must be vigilant in ensuring that the warrant requirements which normally apply to the nonconsensual production of information are not casually waived. In my judgment, the limited expansion of the national security letter exception provided by H.R. 175 does not constitute an unreasonable intrusion into constitutionally protected individual rights and liberties. It is a measured addition to the tools available to the FBI to deter terrorism and espionage, and it deserves the support of the House.

Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Montgomery). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brooks] that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 175.

The question was taken.

Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I, and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

END