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Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify today. I am here to express my deep concern over a dangerous trend that has agents of the federal government knocking on the doors of Americans who are participating in the democratic process. In a disturbing pattern, the Clinton Administration is using the power of the federal government to intimidate individuals it does not agree with who are simply exercising their constitutional right to engage in political activities. These outbreaks of intimidation and harassment must not be allowed to continue. We need to investigate just how widespread this abuse of federal power is and I commend you for holding this hearing.
The latest victims of the Administration's harassment are members of the Florida-187 Committee who were issued subpoenas to appear before a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hearing last month. Not only were members of this organization ordered to appear, the Commission also demanded to have copies of the group's internal documents, including those detailing campaign strategy and other sensitive information. How many of us would feel comfortable having our campaign plans seized by the government and put on public display for our opponents to read a year in advance of our next election? Imagine the chilling effect the Commission's actions would have had on political speech if steps had not been taken by this Subcommittee to stop their attack on political expression.
Unfortunately, other agencies of the federal government are using similar tactics and remain unrepentant. Three days before the November 1994 election in which California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 187, Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick ordered an FBI agent to the door of the proposition's co-author, Barbara Coe. Mrs. Coe's alleged crime? Distributing flyers which stated that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote. Mrs. Coe wasn't breaking any laws and the Assistant Attorney General Patrick knew that. Once the election was over, the investigation was suddenly called off. Mrs. Coe strongly feels that incident was nothing less than an attempt by the federal government to abridge her personal freedom of expression.
Mr. Chairman, Barbara Coe and the individuals involved with the Florida-187 campaign are not anti-government conspirators. They are simply hard-working, American citizens who are participating in the democratic process to promote issues they believe in. Who wouldn't be frightened to receive a federal subpoena or have the FBI question your legal political activities? I am alarmed at the use of government power by liberals in the Clinton administration to intimidate and harass individuals whose beliefs they do not agree with. Because they know they can not win the public debate on illegal immigration, these liberals are resorting to heavy handed tactics, attempting to silence their opponents through intimidation and fear.
The Founders of our country understood their greatest challenge was to devise a government that would respect the rights of the governed. They succeeded brilliantly, but cautioned that eternal vigilance was the price of the liberty they fought so hard to give us. I commend Mr. Foley and the Chairman for their quick action to protect American citizens from the Commission's menacing actions. I urge the Subcommittee and this Congress to ensure that the Commission never intimidates anyone again. The curtailment of the Commission's subpoena power, which is clearly being abused, should be examined. Tactics such as these must never be allowed to stand -- and thankfully, this time, they were not allowed to stand.