Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to explain why I voted against the motion to invoke cloture on S. 990, the legislative vehicle for S. 1038, the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT ACT. I opposed cloture because I believe the Senate has an obligation to consider substantive amendments to improve the PATRIOT Act. We are all aware that at the end of this week three provisions of the PATRIOT Act will expire. The three provisions are business records, roving wiretaps, and ``lone wolf'' terrorists. I understand there is a delicate balance we must strike here between preventing and disrupting future terrorist attacks in the United States and protecting our cherished constitutional rights and civil liberties. We must make sure that our law enforcement and intelligence professionals have the tools they need at their disposal to stop future terrorist attacks. At the same time, we must insure that our government uses our scarce resources wisely, and that it safeguards the very rights and liberties that are guaranteed by our Constitution to all Americans. The current legislation before the Senate simply extends the existing PATRIOT Act authorities for 4 more years, until 2015, without any changes to the authorities given to the government or oversight of their use by Congress and the courts. I think we can improve this legislation, as Congress seeks to strike the proper balance that I have mentioned.…”