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[Page: E540]

• Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, as you know every major police organization in the United States, representing millions of Americans strongly oppose H.R. 695. Now our veterans have joined their efforts to defeat the bill. I have included in the Record today a letter from the VFW which outlines their opposition to H.R. 695, the SAFE Act.

• The 2.1 million members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars believe that the version of the bill reported by the Committees on Judiciary, International Relations and Commerce will be detrimental to our national security and law enforcement.

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES,
Washington, DC, February 17, 1998.

Hon. Gerald B. Solomon,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Solomon: On behalf of our 2.1 million members, the VFW thanks you for inviting us to the presentation you recently sponsored regarding the issue of encryption. We found the presentation to be extremely informative and persuasive.

Please be assured that the VFW fully agrees that there is a need for the law enforcement and intelligence communities to have an unfettered capability to counter terrorists and criminals, both domestic and foreign. We strongly support H.R. 695, the `Security and Freedom Through Encryption (SAFE) Act' as reported by the House National Security and Intelligence Committees, which calls for controlled government access through key recovery tools to decrypt information and communications that endanger our national security. We oppose the version of H.R. 695 reported by the Judiciary, International Relations and Commerce Committees because they failed to incoporate essential key recovery language. As America moves forward into the 21st century it is absolutely essential that we have the ability to keep pace with those who intend to bring us harm.

Again, thank you for inviting us to a most stimulating presentation. We look forward to working with you on this issue.

Sincerely,

Kenneth A. Steadman,
Executive Director.

END