On the recordJune 2, 2015
Sunday night was just another self- inflicted crisis from Senator McConnell and the Republican leadership. Playing politics with our national security is reckless. And allowing others to play politics with our national security, against the majority of the U.S. Senate and House, is not leadership. The Republicans said, ``Put us in the majority and we will govern responsibly.'' They claimed there would be no more shutdowns, no more governing by crisis. Yet, on Sunday night our intelligence professionals were left without the important tools they need to fight terrorism. And now Republicans are at it again--proposing amendments that would delay the process and leave us without these critical capabilities for even longer. FBI Director Comey said that his Agency uses section 215 fewer than 200 times per year, but when the FBI uses it, ``it matters tremendously.'' And the White House National Security Council's Ned Price said that a sunset would result ``in the loss, going forward, of a critical national security tool.'' I can't believe Republicans would take us to the brink and put our country at risk. It is shameful. The USA FREEDOM Act is supported by a wide, bipartisan majority in both Chambers. It passed the House with 338 votes. A little over a week ago, a clear majority of Senators, 57, voted to proceed to this legislation. That still wasn't enough. Senator McConnell and his Republican colleagues blocked it from moving forward.…
Source
govinfo.gov




