Political Quotes

“I take this time to speak in favor of the Leahy substitute amendment to the FISA legislation. I start by thanking Senator Rockefeller and Senator Bond, Senator Leahy and Senator Specter for their extraordinary work on this most difficult subject. This is not an easy subject. We are dealing with a technology that has changed and the need of our country to get information through our intelligence community, which is important for our national security, and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of the people of our Nation. The Leahy substitute is a bill that was carefully worked and drafted within the Judiciary Committee. The Intelligence Committee came up with their legislation. We passed it rather quickly before the recess. The Judiciary Committee spent a lot of time looking at the substance of how we could make sure we got the language right, to make sure the intelligence community has the information they need, and that we do protect the rights of the people of our own country. The Leahy substitute does that, with the right balance.”