Political Quotes

“6 years ago I stood on this floor and called upon the Senate to join the fight against terrorism in the wake of the horrific bombing in Oklahoma City. Back then some argued terrorism was something that usually happened far away, in distant lands, over distant conflicts. Well, that's all changed. Terrorism has come to America. We have to be a little proactive now. Back then, I proposed a series of precise anti-terrorism tools to help law enforcement catch terrorists before they commit their deadly act, not ever imagining the events of September 11. In particular, I said that it simply did not make sense that many of our law enforcement tools were not available for terrorism cases. For example, the FBI could get a wiretap to investigate the mafia, but they could not get one to investigate terrorists. To put it bluntly, that was crazy! What's good for the mob should be good for terrorists. Anyway, some of my proposals were enacted into law in 1996, a number were not. There were those who decided that the threat to Americans was apparently not serious enough to give the President all the changes in law be requested. Today, 5 years later, I again call on my colleagues to provide law enforcement with a number of the tools which they declined to pass back then.”