December 18, 2007 10:06AM 

# Lipstick on a Pig 

By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) 

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The [Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Redress Act of 2007](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_4179.html) is a recently introduced bill that would establish a dedicated agency within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate and streamline the appeals of people who believe they have been wrongly watch-listed by DHS or the Department of Justice. This office would maintain a “Cleared List” of names that have been identified as not representing a risk.

This is not an answer. As [I’ve written before](https://www.cato.org/2006/10/06/the-weaknesses-of-watch-listing/), watch-listing is alien to our system of justice and law enforcement. And because of the potential for opening holes in the pseudo-security watch-listing provides, getting “cleared” by this office would be a bureaucratic nightmare.

This proposal is lipstick on a pig. The pig is watch-listing.

##### Related Tags 

[Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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