Zoe Lofgren: “A lot of Members don't know what a previous question motion is, and that is not really a surprise, because it is usually…”

“A lot of Members don't know what a previous question motion is, and that is not really a surprise, because it is usually used to set up some issues, and it is a party-line vote. This is different. This is different because this would allow amendments to be offered to these appropriations bills. Now, the amendment process in appropriations is one of the few times that Members of Congress have an opportunity to offer an amendment. And it is not just Democrats. It is Republicans, too. I recall very well--I am a member, I am a co-chair of the Fourth Amendment Caucus. It is Congressman Ted Poe and myself. And what members of the Fourth Amendment Caucus did was we put together an amendment that actually reformed section 702 of the PATRIOT Act. What it said was you can't query the database accumulated under section 702 without a warrant. It is pretty obvious the Fourth Amendment protects Americans. That passed by a huge bipartisan vote twice. We don't get to offer that amendment this time because it is not an open rule. So I am just asking that we treat this previous question vote as very different than the usual garden variety previous question vote, because this is different. This isn't about idealogy. This isn't about 30- second adds and all that nonsense that we both do. No. This is about having the opportunity--Republicans and Democrats, Members of Congress--to offer an amendment in important areas, especially the Fourth Amendment.…”