On the recordOctober 12, 2001
However, Mr. Speaker, I cannot support this effort. I do support Governor Ridge, and I do support Attorney General Ashcroft and the President of the United States. However, Mr. Speaker, I feel like this bill goes way too far. Some of the provisions place more power in the hands of law enforcement than our Founding Fathers could have ever dreamt. Nationwide warrants and secret courts would have been familiar to the Founding Fathers, Mr. Speaker, because they fought against those very institutions when they fought the British. This bill promises security, but Americans need to be secure with their liberties. This bill promises safety, but Americans are only safe if they are free. Mr. Speaker, others have said it more eloquently than I. Patrick Henry, for instance, said it when he said, ``I have but one lamp which guides my feet, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.
Source
govinfo.gov
