Political Quotes

“again we are presented with a missed opportunity. H.R. 2703, as it was presented for a final passage vote, contains virtually no provisions necessary to aid law enforcement in stopping terrorist attacks which is the stated purpose of the legislation. I would have supported H.R. 2703 as it was reported by the Committee on the Judiciary. Unfortunately, the Barr amendment, as adopted, stripped the bill of its most important provisions including sections that might have helped protect law enforcement from killer bullets, helped trace explosives, and allowed law enforcement to trace terrorists' phone calls. In addition, the Barr amendment gutted the bill's sections requiring swift expulsion of foreign terrorists and the amendment weakened efforts to eliminate domestic fundraising support of terrorism overseas. For example, nothing in this bill would prevent Hamas, a terrorist group located in and around Israel, from fundraising in the United States. Had the Barr amendment failed, I would not have supported the Conyers-Nadler amendment. The Conyers-Nadler amendment removed important habeas corpus language and necessary law enforcement measures. The bill, as reported by the Judiciary Committee, is stronger than the Conyers-Nadler substitute. However, once the Barr amendment passed, I voted for the Conyers-Nadler substitute because it put a number of key provisions back into the bill.”