Privacy concerns prompted Hawai'i's 'no' votes in security bill
| • | Senate OKs security agency |
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Unable to reconcile concerns about privacy rights and worker protection, Sen. Dan Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka yesterday voted against creating a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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The Hawai'i Democrats were among only nine senators who objected to the new department, which will merge 170,000 workers from 22 agencies and coordinate security at the federal level.
Sen. Dan Inouye, top, and Sen. Daniel Akaka both voted against creating a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Both Inouye and Akaka have said they support stronger homeland security measures but found problems with aspects of the bill.
Although Inouye did not have a major role in the floor debate over the past few months, his name and history as a World War II veteran were invoked by colleagues to counter suggestions by Republicans that Democrats were stalling important security legislation.
Inouye said yesterday that it would have been easy to set aside his concerns and vote for the bill when it became apparent that it would be approved overwhelmingly. The issue of homeland security has already been used politically, most notably in Georgia, where Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., a disabled Vietnam veteran, lost his re-election campaign in a race where Republicans questioned his opposition to parts of the bill even though he favored the new department. Cleland voted for final passage.
"I realize that," Inouye said of the political nature of the vote, "but I have to live with myself, too."
Inouye and Akaka believe that the department will have too much power to compile and share information about citizens. They also worry that the bill does not provide adequate protection for worker rights, particularly for whistleblowers.
"The threat of a 'Big Brother' new department cannot be overemphasized," Akaka said during debate last week. Akaka had worked closely with others on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on a version of the legislation. "We need strong protections against violations of Americans' privacy and civil rights. The first defense of our freedom comes from a system with checks and balances."
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, voted against the homeland security bill in the House.
