ACLU

From:
Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
To:
ACLU Action Network Members
Subject:
Help Stop the Creation of a National Database of Personal Information

The rise in identity theft has impacted many of our lives. Just today, for example, data broker LexisNexis reported that personal information on 310,000 U.S. citizens may have been stolen.
Now, several Members of Congress are pushing legislation that would compile your most personal information, such as your name, address, social security number and perhaps even your DNA, into a national database. This giant network would then be accessible by numerous government officials and shared with Mexican and Canadian bureaucracies, dramatically increasing the risk of your personal information being stolen and abused.
Take Action! Urge Congress to oppose legislation that would result in a national ID and imperil your personal privacy.
This proposed legislation would create a national system to store your personal contact information and personal biometric information, which could include your fingerprints, DNA or retinal scans. It would drastically alter who has access to your personal information. Thousands of government employees across North America would have access to these personal details, and hackers, thieves, terrorists and organized criminals would have a single one-shop destination for identity theft.
Based on the outcry by concerned activists like you, the legislation’s supporters know they cannot get it to pass as an independent bill in the Senate so they are trying to attach it to an unrelated appropriations bill.
A vote is expected later this week and we need you to contact your Senators and urge them to oppose adding this ill-conceived legislation to the supplemental appropriations bill.
Click here for more information and to contact your Senators: http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=17982&c=39