Cord Byrd: “this legislation not only cuts the Congress out of the loop, it also includes provisions to keep the people and the…”

“this legislation not only cuts the Congress out of the loop, it also includes provisions to keep the people and the press--and the press had better take notice--it includes provisions to keep the people and the press, the members of the fourth estate, in the dark. I don't think the media realize this about this bill. And the media has apparently swallowed the line that this is a compromise. It is more than that. It is a compromise of our personal liberties. It is a compromise of the privacy rights of our people. It is a compromise of the checks and balances. It is a compromise of the separation of powers. It is a compromise of the American people's right to know--the American people's right to know. It is a compromise of that. For those who do not understand what I am saying, they should get this bill, 484 pages of it. It is a new bill. It did not exist anywhere until yesterday. We have talked about how this whole idea of a Homeland Security Department, presented to us by this administration, we have talked about how it was hatched in secrecy in the bowels of the White House, how it was hatched in secrecy, cooked up by four different persons in the White House. I have named them earlier today: Mr. Card, Mr. Gonzales, Mr. Mitch Daniels, and Mr. Ridge. No disrespect to any of them--they are all fine people; they are all fine public servants--but they are not anything extraordinary, I would say that, insofar as people go. They hatched this thing.…”