Page 146 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Consumer Protection and Privacy
federal government in close consultation with the major players in a
valued industry.
The banking industry is not associated with a network of watchdog
groups, customer organizations, or other lobbies that monitor the indus-
try and its relationship with government officials. Up until December 7,
no groups who might potentially oppose the regulations had been active,
and there appeared to be virtually no prospects for organized opposition.
In the October hearing on the House bill that would have mandated the
rules, all witnesses had spoken in favor of the bill, and on the floor
the bill had proven entirely uncontroversial, passing under suspension
of the rules and a voice vote. 42
After the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published, spotty op-
position began to emerge. Representative Ron Paul of Texas, the Liber-
tarian Party’s presidential nominee in 1988, along with other members
of the House Banking Committee, sent a letter to the FDIC criticizing
43
the proposed rules. The first organized group to become active was the
Libertarian Party. According to their national director, Libertarian Party
officials had been previously unaware of the development of the rules,
which came to their attention only after the publication of the notice
and an article in an Internet-based news journal, WorldNetDaily. 44 In
early January, the party officials decided to take on the issue by adopting
two strategies: a traditional set of press releases and interviews with jour-
nalists, and an electronic mail distribution. Their January press releases
proved to be among the party’s most popular ever. Their press secretary
reports that they received a stream of demands for interviews in January,
which let the party know that the topic had a great deal of potential
45
public resonance. On February 3, Ron Paul held a press conference to

42
House Committee on Banking and Financial Services, Full Committee Hearing/
Markup of H.R. 4005, the “Money Laundering Deterrence Act of 1998” and H.R. 1756,
the “Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1997,” 105th Cong., 2nd
sess., June 11, 1998, http://www.house.gov/banking/61198toc.htm. The bill was con-
sidered directly by the full committee without subcommittee hearings or markup.
The only recorded dissention was a single view published in the Banking Committee
report by privacy advocate Rep. Ron Paul, who objected to the bill on the grounds
that “constitutionally there are only three federal crimes ... treason, piracy on the
high seas, and counterfeiting.” See the House Committee Report.
43
Scott Barancik, “Texan Plans to Push Bills to Kill Bank Secrecy Act, Know Your
Customer,” American Banker, Jan. 19, 1999, p. 2.
44
Steve Dasbach, National Director, Libertarian Party, personal interview by Diane
Johnson for the author, May 23, 2000.
45
George Getz, Press Secretary, Libertarian Party, personal interview by Diane Johnson
for the author, May 23, 2000.
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