On the recordFebruary 10, 2011
The Patriot Act is a bill that has been plagued with abuse since it was first passed, and today's rule is yet another example of short-circuiting the system that our Founding Fathers set up. If there were ever the need for the close supervision and congressional oversight of a law, it is a law that discusses how and under what conditions a government can spy on its own citizens. After 10 years of public record, we all agree there are some clear sections of the law that can be improved; but instead of debating these sections of the law to better find that balance between protecting what makes it special to be Americans and protecting our national security, the Republican leadership has decided to ram through this bill with as little debate as possible. Mr. Speaker, we spent an hour earlier discussing how we will spend 9 rac{1}{2} ext{ hours discussing the organizational aspects of the House committee structure. Yet, for something that cuts to our core identity as Americans, we only have an hour under the rule and an hour under the bill to discuss it in its entirety. This bill would reauthorize three of the most troubling provisions in the Patriot Act.
