Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there has been a major development in the war on terror in the last few weeks with the successful defeat of Osama bin Laden, striking a major blow to al Qaeda. At a time like this, we should reexamine the restoration of our constitutional protections. There's no reason to continually extend these Patriot Act provisions without taking a close look at them. My colleague from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) put forward an excellent proposal that's an example of the many thoughtful bipartisan proposals that would improve the Patriot Act, keep the American people safe, and protect our constitutional rights. Unfortunately, discussion of that proposal and debate, and a vote on that proposal, is not allowed under this rule. Therefore, I'm opposed to the rule and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, this bill would specifically reauthorize three provisions: sections 215, 206, and 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. Section 215 allows the government to capture any tangible thing that might be relevant to a terrorist investigation. That could include medical records, your diary, even what books you've checked out at a library. Now, in the past, these orders were limited to narrow classes of businesses and records, but the Patriot Act has stripped away these basic requirements and continues to violate a basic American principle of privacy.…”