Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am introducing today, on behalf of Senator Leahy, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and myself the FISA Sunsets Extension Act of 2010. Since early in this Congress, I have been working with Chairman Leahy, both in my capacity as Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and as a member of the Judiciary Committee, to enact legislation that extends expiring authorities for the collection of foreign intelligence against terrorists, proliferators, foreign powers, and spies, while ensuring that adequate safeguards exist for the protection of the civil liberties and privacy of Americans. To that end, the Judiciary Committee reported, in October 2009, S. 1692, a bill that sought to accomplish two main objectives. One was to extend the life of three authorities under FISA which were then due to sunset on December 31, 2009, described as roving, lone wolf, and business records collection, all of which have been previously described to the Senate during the consideration of earlier extensions. Through two short-term measures, those sunsets have been extended to February 28, 2010. The other main objective was to secure several amendments to statutes on intelligence collection that would improve the balance they strike between protecting national security and protecting civil liberties and privacy.…”