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Committee Sponsors Privacy and Civil Liberties Roundtable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, November 20, 2008

November 20, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – On Wednesday, December 3rd, the Majority Staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security will host a series of roundtable discussions on the future of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security.  The event, entitled “A Path Forward: Constitutional Protections in Homeland Security”, is sponsored by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.  Experts from the public sector will give their views on the focus the Department should take in dealing with privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties during the new Administration.  There will be a total of six panels, all listed below.

Chairman Thompson released the following statement regarding the event:

“As the Department of Homeland Security enters its first transition, it is essential that its new leadership and Congress work together to ensure that the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of American citizens are made a priority in the continuation of the Department's current programs and implementation of new policies.  The Department must understand that it can both preserve the Constitutional rights of the American people and maintain its mission to keep our nation secure.”

 

Panels:

[9am] The Road Ahead: Protecting Civil Liberties in a Natural Disaster
        Moderator: Hillary Shelton, Director, NAACP Washington Bureau

• Douglas DeLeaver, Immediate Past President, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• Geoffrey Mount Varner, Chairperson, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Howard University Hospital
• Anita Shina, Staff Attorney, The Advancement Project
• Karen Wilcox, President, Black Women in Fire Service

[10am] A New Direction:  Privacy Implications in Datamining
        Moderator: Kate Martin, Director, Center for National Security Studies

• Fred Cate, Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law, and Director, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Indiana University
• Barry Steinhardt, Director of the Technology & Liberty Program, American Civil Liberties Union
• Nuala O'Connor Kelly, Senior Counsel, Information Governance and Privacy, General Electric

[11am] The Way Forward: Privacy and Domestic Intelligence & Information Sharing
        Moderator: Lisa Graves, Center for National Security Studies

• Michael German, National Security Policy Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union
• Kate Martin, Director Center for National Security Studies
• Laura Murphy, President, Laura Murphy & Associates
• Greg Nojeim, Senior Counsel, Center for Democracy and Technology

[1pm] The Advancing Lane: Transportation Security & Privacy and Civil Liberties
        Moderator: Theresa Peterson, Manager, External Affairs and Technology Programs, General         Electric Global Research

• Lillie Coney, Associate Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center
• P.J. Crowley, Senior Fellow and Director of Homeland Security, Center for American Progress
• Douglas DeLeaver, Immediate Past President, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• Tim Sparapani, Senior Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union

[2pm] The Changing Course:  Privacy, Civil Liberties, and the Border
        Moderator: Tim Sparapani, Senior Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union

• Sophia Cope, Staff Attorney and Ron Plesser Fellow, Center for Democracy and Technology
• Greg Nojeim, Senior Counsel, Center for Democracy and Technology
• Barry Steinhardt, Director of the Technology & Liberty Program, American Civil Liberties Union
• Peter Swire, C. William Neill Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

[3pm] A Progressive Dimension: Cybersecurity and Privacy
        Moderator: Nuala O' Connor Kelly, Senior Counsel, Information Governance and Privacy, General Electric

• Paula Bruening, Deputy Director, Centre for Information Policy and Leadership, Hunton & Williams, LLP
• Fred Cate, Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law, and Director, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Indiana University
• Tom Kellermann, Vice President of Security Awareness, CORE Security and Technology
• Marc Rotenburg, Executive Director, Electronic Privacy Information Center

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FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978