Political Quotes

“I thank the minority leader because he has brought to the attention of this body a measure of critical importance. Right now, we are missing a very significant portion of the signals and intelligence we could capture on al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations threatening to do harm to the United States. The reason is because the existing Federal Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act doesn't fit in with today's technology. The Director of National Intelligence has asked us--begged us--to make these changes. He submitted a proposal to the Intelligence Committee in April, and then he came before our committee in May. He came and briefed as many Members of the Senate who wanted to show up last month, and 42 members did, and they understood the importance. In my tenure as a member of the Intelligence Committee, I have spent a considerable amount of time looking at issues regarding FISA modernization. Since I became vice chairman, I have worked closely with Chairman Rockefeller to ensure that our oversight of this measure and this program has been comprehensive. We have held numerous hearings. Most of us have gone out and watched how the protections are implemented and where the information is collected at the NSA. The DNI's proposal came up to us, and in April he warned that the current text of FISA is causing significant intelligence gaps during a period of increased threat. We all know that the threat of al-Qaida is severe now.…”