On Sept. 2, 2008 OMB Watch filed comments on the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed amendments to 28 C.F.R. 23, which governs programs that receive funding under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Safe Streets Act). We asked DOJ to reject the addition of "domestic and international terrorism, including material support thereof" to the list of activities that could be investigated. Our comments noted, "This is redundant, since terrorism and providing material support for it are crimes, and the current rule already covers criminal activity. A separate listing implies that non-criminal activity could be subject to investigation…This is not just a potential danger. The government has treated free speech activities as a terrorist threat, using anti-terrorism resources to investigate people and groups that publicly and vocally dissent from Bush administration policies." Unfortunately, DOJ incorporated the expanded powers into its new Guidelines, released in early October. The full text of the comments are here