"I find it kind of scary ... We used to laugh at the old Soviet Union idea where everybody reported everybody else ... We don't need to have it happen here," commented Patrick Leahy (Vermont-D), chair of the Senate Judiciary committee, on a program that is currently working its way through Congress.

Leahy's comment, published in the Brattleboro Reformer, seems to encapsulate the basic argument of the vociferous criticism being shot at the Operation Terrorist Information and Prevention System (TIPS) program: it is too reminiscent of fascism and can be considered unconstitutional.

TIPS, which has encountered an ongoing barrage of criticism from all sides of the political spectrum, is sponsored by the Department of Justice in conjunction with Homeland Security and several other government agencies. For months the Department of Justice has promoted the program while attempting to please its critics, who remain skeptical of its objective. The program's website (www.citizencorps.gov) describes the objective as "a national system for concerned workers to report suspicious activityl."

To the relief of the program's critics, TIPS did not appear on the draft of the Homeland Security Bill passed by the House of Representatives on July 29, 2002. This is a preliminary victory for the diverse group of conservative and liberal organizations that oppose the program on the grounds that it would violate privacy laws and give neighbors incentive to "peep" on one another. "Citizens will not become informants," stated the House Chairman's summary for the bill.

But this does not mean that TIPS has disappeared. The Senate has its turn to review and amend the Homeland Security Bill this autumn, and since the Senate was unable to review it before the August recess Congress takes every year, the program is technically still pending.

Also, the Justice Department claims that it will pursue the program in some form or another--if it is not already made legal by the Senate.

In addition, The Policy Action Network reported that the International Longshoremen's Association, which has 65,000 members, offered its services; the U.S. Postal Service, which had originally declined to allow its letter carriers to participate, changed its mind and met with the Justice Department; and James P. Hoffa, president of the Teamster's Union, proposed the participation of its American members.

In one sense (the Justice Department's), they would all become "volunteer informants," but in the differing view of ACLU Legislative Counsel Rachel King, in an ACLU news release, these organizations would instead serve as "government-sanctioned peeping toms."

The ACLU is not alone in its criticism of TIPS. There has been opposition from politically diverse groups such as the Cato Institute, the conservative Rutherford Institute, and the National Lawyers Guild.

At the time of publication, the program was still waiting to be discussed on the Senate floor. But House Majority Leader Dick Armey's aide, Richard Diamond, said it is likely that the program will not be discussed due to its prohibition in the House Bill, which Armey played a key role in designing.

But only time will tell at this point whether or not TIPS is revived.

According to the ACLU, TIPS was originally scheduled for action as a pilot program in August 2002; but since the Justice Department is saying it is still planning to pursue the program, it seems as if it has only been temporarily postponed by the recent developments.

It was also reported by the Associated Press that the Justice Department was waiting until Congress returns in September before harvesting any "tips," giving them time to consult lawmakers. The Operation TIPS website did say that there were plans in the works with several private industry groups but did not mention who they were or when any "peeping" would begin.

At one point during the legislation process, the Justice Department was sending incoming "tips" to America's Most Wanted, a TV show owned by the Fox Network. This was stopped after much criticism, and now the TIPS website reports that it is discussing the use of the National White Collar Crime Center as a host for the TIPS hotline number. The center is a non-profit, private corporation that primarily assists local law enforcement agencies in combating cyber crime. The Justice Department theorizes that "volunteer informants" would use this hotline to report anomalous social activity, but whether any "tips" have already been processed by the hotline or through other means remains unclear.

Despite accusations that the program would cause privacy violations and turn neighbors against each other, Attorney General John Ashcroft defended the program at a Judiciary Committee Hearing on July 27, 2002. According to the Policy Action Network, Ashcroft claimed that TIPS was not "a program related to private places like homes." Thus, he mentioned truck drivers, who do not routinely enter households, as an example. However, letter carriers, who are indeed in a better position to view private activity in households, have been successfully sought out by the program.

For now, it remains unclear what the future of TIPS will be. But rest assured, as the Department of Justice continues to seek its realization, the criticism from all facets of the political spectrum will continue to tip off the government to the program's Orwellian implications.