On the recordSeptember 11, 2012
I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I've heard my good friend from Colorado. Maybe he wasn't serving on the Judiciary Committee this summer, but prior to this being vetted within the Judiciary Committee, all the members there were offered a classified briefing as it relates to FISA. Every member had the opportunity to attend that. As I said, I'm not sure if Mr. Polis was a member of that Judiciary Committee at the time it was offered to all. As a matter of fact, yesterday, at the Rules Committee, the ranking Democratic member of the Intelligence Committee, Mr. Ruppersberger, pointed out to the Rules Committee that, at any time, any Member of this House can request a classified briefing--any Member. {time} 1340 He wanted to make sure that this didn't become a political football. He admonished all of us not to make this a political statement, but to do what's right for this country. I hear time and time again from my good friend as this relates to civil liberties of Americans. If you look back to 2008, that was rectified. Prior to that I would tell you that the civil liberties of Americans were in jeopardy, but in 2008, that was corrected, and it's continued on in this reauthorization of 2012. Once again, the FISA court is comprised of U.S. District Federal judges, and they also have a right to appeal to a court of review made up of Federal judges. The information, as Mr.…
