State hearing to focus on pact with controversial anti-terror institute

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.comTimes Leader Staff Writer

HARRISBURG -- The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, which has jurisdiction over homeland security matters, will hold a public hearing later this month to dig more deeply into the controversial no-bid contract the state government had with The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.

The Philadelphia-based firm has come under fire after reports surfaced that its so-called terrorism-threat monitoring system has reported on the plans of Pennsylvania activists and other gatherings including films, religious holiday ceremonies and peaceful protests against gas drilling.

Gov. Ed Rendell apologized Tuesday for the company’s monitoring that has included notices of a gay and lesbian festival, screening of a movie about the state’s Marcellus Shale natural gas rush, and a rally in support of the governor’s school spending priorities.

According to the Associated Press, the state has a contract with the firm for $108,000 a year, a contract Rendell’s spokesman Gary Tuma said would not be renewed when it expires next month, and that if additional reports are generated they will not be disseminated.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, who chairs the Senate committee, says that as more information comes to light, state actions become more concerning.

“People were targeted for no reason other than they were exercising their fundamental rights of free speech and assembly. Beyond that, there seems no justification for sharing this kind of information with the private businesses who received it,” Baker said.

Rendell has said much of the information was worthless to law enforcement.

“I’ll tell you, the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, they have a clever gig going,” he said at a Tuesday night news conference. “They probably read the newspaper and put this stuff in. ... It’s stunning.”

Josh Fox, director of the documentary “Gasland,” told the Associated Press he was angry and stunned that a showing of his movie drew the notice of the monitors. He said people opposed to the shale drilling had previously told him they suspected they were being watched.

“To protest, to bring public awareness to an idea is a right provided in our Constitution,” Fox said. “I’m deeply saddened that people’s civil liberties were infringed upon.”

Baker said that reports indicate “that key administration officials had the chance to change this or put a stop to it months ago. But the program would still be running if someone had not blown the whistle. Citizens want to know why this was allowed to continue, and they deserve answers. This is too serious a matter to trust to an in-house inquiry alone.”

“I have had people contacting me to express concern about how this might affect them. They and others are very angry about what appears to be a serious abuse of government power,” Baker said.

The public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27, in Hearing Room 1 in the North Office Building in Harrisburg. It will start at 10 and letters requesting state officials to testify are being sent today.