Political Quotes

“I stand today in support of S. 139, the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act. As we know, the first responsibility of the U.S. Government is to protect our citizens. To do so, we must make sure that those who protect us have the tools to keep us safe. This bill does exactly that. It provides the intelligence community and law enforcement with the right tools, but it also minds the civil liberties and the privacy protections that our Constitution requires, especially given the ever- changing technological landscape. The importance of our country's safety and security has been highlighted in several events from just the past 2 years. We often get lost in the constant news cycle, but let's not forget that New York City suffered three significant terrorist attacks in the last 15 months alone. In September 2016, a terrorist detonated a pressure-cooker bomb in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. A second pressure-cooker bomb was found a few blocks away but didn't detonate. Earlier that day, a bomb went off near the start of a Marine Corps charity race. This past October, Sayfullo Saipov drove a rented truck onto the bike lane and pedestrian walkway on the West Side Highway. He mowed down numerous civilians, killing eight and injuring 12 others. And this past December, Akayed Ullah detonated a bomb in New York City's subway tunnel to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, injuring several people near him. He told investigators that he did it in the name of ISIS.…”