Amy Klobuchar wants innocent people to be able to get off Terrorist Watch List.

[Eric J in MN]

From an email from Klobuchar's office:

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced legislation that will help the thousands of American travelers who experience delays and other inconveniences because their names are mistakenly flagged by U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Terrorist Screening Database (commonly known as the terrorist watch list).

Klobuchar introduced the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Redress Act of 2008 (or FAST-Redress) with Senator John Thune (R-SD) to require the Department of Homeland Security to establish a “one-stop shop” to make it quicker and easier for innocent Americans to get their names cleared from the terrorist watch list.

At the news conference announcing the legislation, Klobuchar was joined by several Minnesotans who have been delayed or stopped from boarding planes because they were mistakenly flagged on the terrorist watch list. They included Dr. James Smith, a physician from Bloomington; Jim Miller, a commercial real estate broker from Saint Paul; and Jack Anderson, a seven-year-old boy from Minneapolis.

“There are really two issues here,” said Klobuchar. “First, there’s an issue of fairness for innocent Americans who find themselves misidentified as possible terrorists. Second, there’s an issue of government competence. A watch list that’s riddled with mistakes and inaccuracies simply isn’t going to be an effective weapon in the fight against terrorism.”

The watch list is administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a department within Homeland Security. The list is meant to provide federal agencies and airlines with a synchronized list of possible terrorist threats. Airlines operating in the U.S. are required to check each passenger’s name against the watch list prior to issuing a boarding pass.

The TSA’s current process for correcting misidentifications on the watch list has been criticized as ineffective and wrapped in bureaucratic red tape.

“The TSA has not exactly inspired great public confidence in how they do business,” said Klobuchar. “After all, this is the same agency that hired Sonia Pitt shortly after she was fired from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for outrageous misconduct.”

Specifically, the legislation would require Homeland Security to establish a timely and fair redress process for individuals who believe they have been wrongly identified as a threat on the terrorist watch list.

It would establish an independent office in Homeland Security to maintain a Comprehensive Cleared List of individuals who’ve been misidentified and should not be on the watch list..

It would also require Homeland Security to furnish this Comprehensive Cleared List to all agencies that use the terrorist watch list.

The legislation has been endorsed by the National Business Travel Association.

“It’s important that our government has a watch list to find and capture suspected terrorists. But the watch list must be more up to date, more focused and more accurate if it’s going to be an effective weapon against terrorism. When so many innocent Americans are being misidentified as possible terrorists, the government needs to do a better job.”

[Minnesota Raindog]

1. Message from the ACLU

Subject: Check-in: Your bags and your rights.

If you travel outside the United States this summer, you can kiss your right to privacy, and perhaps your laptop, digital camera and cell phone, goodbye.

Did you know...

1. Border security can seize your laptop, cell phone or camera with no suspicion or explanation.

2. Many airports use scanners that conduct a virtual " strip search" of passengers.

3. There are over one million names on the terrorist watch list.

4. The TSA recently expressed interest in having every airline passenger wear "electro-muscular disruption" bracelets that could be used to shock passengers into submission.

Traveling shouldn’t mean checking your rights when you’re checking your luggage. It’s time for some sanity when it comes to security.

I just asked my members of Congress to rein in travel abuses by the Department of Homeland Security. You can learn more about this and email your members of Congress here:

http://action.aclu.org/travel