IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED
--- Legislation in Congress Seeks to Restrict Access to Birth
Records; FGS Recommends Writing to Your Congressional Representatives

======================================
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a bill, House
Resolution 10 (H.R. 10), which seeks to restrict access to birth
certificates. This bill, which purpose is to respond to the threat of
terrorism, is on a fast track to passage and has been voted on by
several committees already. Your help is needed now.

David Rencher, Chairman of the Record Access and Preservation
Committee, a joint committee of the National Genealogical Society and
Federation of Genealogical Societies, has sent a letter to the bill's
sponsor, Congressman Dennis Hastert, recommending an amendment to the
bill as follows:

"However, nothing in this Chapter 2 shall be construed to require a
State to change its law with respect to public access to (A) non-
certified copies of birth certificates, or to (B) birth certificates
or birth records once a period of 100 years has elapsed from the
date of creation of the certificate or record."

A copy of the letter is available on the FGS site at:
http://www.fgs.org/rpa/formalactions.htm

To view this bill, go to:
http://thomas.loc.gov
Enter HR 10 in the search box for "Bill Number."

ACTION IS NEEDED NOW
Because this bill is moving toward passage so quickly, it is urged
that the genealogical community take action immediately and let their
representatives know that they are in support of David Rencher's
amendment and the FGS position in this important matter. To find your
state representative's contact information, go to:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

HOW SHOULD I WORD MY LETTER?
While you should word the letter in any way that is comfortable for
you, it is recommended that you include the following as a portion of
the letter:

"While I support the intention to increase security to protect the
U.S. from terrorists and those who wish to improperly take U.S.
identities, I am concerned that those researching their family's
history continue to have access to non-certified birth records.

Therefore, in order to support HR-10 I ask that you amend HR-10
Section 3063(d)(2) by adding the following wording to the existing
paragraph:

'However, nothing in this Chapter 2 shall be construed to require a
State to change its law with respect to public access to (A) non-
certified copies of birth certificates or to (B) birth certificates
or birth records once a period of 100 years has elapsed from the date
of creation of the certificate or record.'

I believe that this additional language is imperative so that the
states do not react by restricting all certificates to comply with
the law, rather than dealing with certified as opposed to non-
certified birth certificates. This proposed amendatory language would
remind them that they can and should be treated differently."

from Ancestry Daily News 07 October 2004