Press release: “The leaders of the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) [copy of the letter] to investigate the proposed creation of a new federal facility aimed at identifying terrorists. The Subcommittee is concerned that, without the proper safeguards in place, billions of personal records that will be stored there may be vulnerable to theft or abuse. The FBI is currently seeking $12 million to develop a new, mammoth, data-mining center that will collect billions of records on individuals suspected of terrorist connections over the next few years. The new National Security Branch Analysis Center (NSAC) proposed in the Department of Justice’s FY2008 budget justification document, will include 90,000 square feet of office space and a total of 59 staff, including 23 contractors and five FBI agents. “Documents predict the NASC will include six billion records by FY2012. This amounts to 20 separate ‘records’ for each man, woman and child in the United States,” wrote the Subcommittee leaders.”