Fueling concerns that MATRIX is means for the feds to get around congressional prohibitions is the fact the program so far has been funded entirely with federal grants and because the federal government was allotted 500 "licenses" to access the MATRIX database. That's more than any single state involved in the program (McKee said Utah has been given 20 to 30 licenses).

MATRIX has drawn consternation from conservative groups and civil libertarians who are concerned about the potential for law enforcement to use the information to spy on law-abiding citizens, create dossiers on citizens or groups based on political views rather than criminal behavior, and so-called data mining — using the wealth of information to create lists of people who fit certain profiles, even though no crime was committed.

Elizabeth Dunning, a citizen member on the committee, pointed out that MATRIX documents boast about its data mining potential. In one test case, the program created a list of 120,000 potential terrorists. On that list were 20 terrorists or people already under investigation by the FBI.

That means 119,980 people are on a list as potential terrorists but who have committed no crime.

"It," Dunning said, "is profiling on steroids."

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Contributing: Josh Loftin

E-mail: spang@desnews.com