From the December 2002 Idaho Observer:

President's 32-page Homeland Security bill expands to 484 pages, then sails through Senate 89-11

by Don Harkins

With alarming disrespect to parliamentary procedure, the Senate passed the 484-page Homeland Security bill Nov. 19, 2002, without even reading it. “It was brought here less than 48 hours ago,” commented Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVA). “It had not been before any committee. It had undergone no hearings,” the 50-year veteran of Congress added.

Homeland Security had sailed through the House in similar fashion last Nov. 13. The bill represents a massive increase of federal oversight into the lives of Americans. Since the daily lives of Americans will be affected by Homeland Security, it would seem appropriate that they would have had some input into the bill's content before sending it to the president.

Electronic activists led by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny of Cleveland managed to delay the Senate vote for a day by flooding Capitol Hill with emails, FAXes and phone calls. Rather than pass Homeland Security on a Monday, it happened Tuesday.

American people were not the only group ignored in the evolution of the Department of Homeland Security. Each member of Congress signed a bill they didn't read which cuts them out of the new agency's power loop (See chart page 16).

Homeland Security is the latest in a long line of intrusive acts passed by Congress since the federal government allowed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to be attacked Sept. 11, 2001. “The frightening details of the Homeland Security bill, which authorizes an unprecedented level of warrantless spying on American citizens, are still emerging. Those who still care about the Bill of Rights, particularly the 4th amendment, have every reason to be alarmed,” said Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

Since 9-11, most Americans have been oblivious as the war on terrorism has been primarily fought on the front of their own freedom.

The little sausage link that became a ham

When our simple-minded president submitted Homeland Security to the House, it was 32 pages. According to Rep. Paul, it quickly expanded to 282 pages during the short amount of time it was in committee and ended up as the nearly 500-page bill passed by the Senate.

Special interest groups like the pharma cartel were able to slip some 470 pages of pork into the bill. According to Homeland Security, those injured by government-mandated vaccines cannot sue vaccine manufacturers for damages.

Rep. Paul, who voted to pass Homeland Security, explained that, “Congress spent just a few short hours last week voting to create the biggest new federal bureaucracy since World War II, not that the media or even most members of Congress paid much attention to the process. Yet our most basic freedoms as Americans -- privacy in our homes, persons, and possessions; confidentiality in our financial and medical affairs; openness in our conversations, telephone, and internet use; unfettered travel; indeed the basic freedom not to be monitored as we go through our daily lives -- have been dramatically changed.”

Homeland Security comes with a $3 billion price tag and will require some 170,000 employees -- just for starters. There is no congresssional oversight. The president will oversee all matters of budgeting and policy from here on out.

“The sheer magnitude of the bill, and the technical complexity of it, makes it impossible for anyone to understand completely. Rest assured that the new department represents a huge increase in the size and scope of the federal government that will mostly serve to spy on the American people,” said Rep. Paul.