Secure Liberties Newsletter

Cavan Kharrazian on February 2, 2023

TOP LINE

Bipartisan stars aligning for defense spending cuts? Potentially, but it will take a lot of maneuvering. Capping government spending to 2022 levels was reportedly part of the concessions McCarthy made to win his speakership race. That would mean a $75 billion cut relative to FY 2023 levels (that relative figure will be even more substantial when FY 2024 baseline projections are released). Of course, it’s been a longstanding tradition for progressives in Congress to advocate for Pentagon cuts… only to get soundly rejected. But given the current circumstances, there may be an opportunity for unlikely alliances to pose a stronger challenge to the yearly hike in defense spending, and possibly cutting it back. Yesterday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary Austin asking for the DOD to curtail its ‘unfunded priorities’ wishlist, which entails billions of dollars of funding requested above the President’s budget proposals (recall that last year Congress approved nearly $45 billion in spending above Biden’s budget). While there are significant hurdles ahead, this is a promising sign. We’ll be tracking this fight closely in the coming months.

Military spending on Ukraine is also a target of scrutiny in the 118th. Newly sworn-in Senator J.D. Vance led 7 Republican Senators and 30 Republican Representatives in a January 19th letter to OMB director Shalanda Young asking for increased transparency over the $114 billion in Ukraine/Russia conflict-related funding passed in the most recent omnibus spending bill. The lawmakers have questions over potential unaccounted funds spent outside of the $114 billion figure, and asked the OMB for an expanded version of a report already mandated in the omnibus package. This is likely an opening salvo for further scrutiny and transparency measures regarding military aid to Ukraine in Congress. Stephen Semler of Speaking Security offers some useful analysis on recent Ukraine spending here and here. We also recommend this New Republic piece by Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute.

NEW YEAR, NEW 702 REAUTHORIZATION FIGHT

This year Section 702 of FISA will expire unless Congress reauthorizes this dangerously overbroad surveillance authority. Established in 2008, Section 702 allows government agencies like the NSA and the FBI to spy on Americans without a warrant. Government agencies regularly ignore even these loose rules and have violated an untold number of Americans’ privacy in the process. Declassified documents reveal that in 2019 the FBI had unlawfully searched Section 702 information tens of thousands of times. Section 702 poses an existential threat to civil liberties, and is being widely criticized by progressives and conservatives alike. Read Demand Progress Education Fund’s comments for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on Section 702 of FISA here.

STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT SECRET DRONE USE RULE CHANGES

As civil society still waits on Biden to publicize lethal force policy, a US drone strike kills 3 in Yemen. On Monday, the US launched a drone strike killing three suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen’s Marib province, local officials have reported (CENTCOM has not released a statement). This latest strike comes after more than 50 organizations issued a letter in December to the Biden administration asking for a public release of a classified Presidential Policy Memorandum which altered Trump-era rules on counterterrorism drone strikes (initially reported last October).
 
FRED KOREMATSU: A CIVIL RIGHTS HERO

85+ organizations support legislation honoring Fred Korematsu, World War II-era civil rights hero who fought against US concentration camps. Senators Hirono and Duckworth and Reps. Takano and Tokuda introduced a new bicameral legislative package on Monday to honor Korematsu’s legacy. Fred Korematsu, an American citizen of Japanese descent, fought the implementation of Executive Order 9066 through a lawsuit that challenged the mass violation of civil liberties on the basis of race. The letter, led by the Fred T. Korematsu Institute and Demand Progress Action urges Congress to elevate this history for all Americans to learn from and recognize the importance of this civil rights hero by passing the following legislation: (1) Fred Korematsu Congressional Gold Medal Act; (2) Recognizing the importance of establishing a national “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution”; and (3) Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act.
 
WHO ARE YOU SENDING $$$ TO? 

A database of over 150 million money transfers from more than 20 countries, including the US, is being monitored by over 600 US federal, state and local law enforcement agencies without court oversight, per Wall Street Journal reporting. The database, housed at the Transaction Record Analysis Center, was set up to combat cross-border trafficking and contains sender, recipient, and transaction amount information. Senator Wyden’s investigation into this mass surveillance program revealed that it has been operating on a much larger scale than previously known, prompting his request for an investigation by the Department of Justice Inspector General.

RECOMMENDED READING

  • An investigation revealed that journalists’ physical locations were being monitored using their IP addresses by TikTok, per a Forbes exclusive.

  • A report examining the risks that laws requiring social media companies to provide data to independent researchers could make it easier for law enforcement to gain unjustified access to users’ data, and how to mitigate those risks by the Center for Democracy & Technology.

  • A report highlighting the connection between bloated Pentagon budget and the militarization of law enforcement by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center.

 
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