Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment being offered and in support of the underlying bill and the increased oversight in transparency it provides to the body of the intelligence community and the American public that it protects. I thank the ranking member and also Chairman Goodlatte for allowing me to have this time. Mr. Speaker, I want Americans at home to know what this program is not. It is not a dragnet surveillance program; it is not a program that could ever be used to target Americans; and it is not an unchecked intelligence tool. In fact, it may be one of the most heavily overseen programs that we have. This bill strengthens that accountability. As former ranking member of the Intelligence Committee and Representative of the district that is home to NSA, I have taken many of my colleagues in this Chamber on trips to NSA so that they can see firsthand how these programs work to protect Americans and also to protect our freedom and civil liberties. This is not a debate on constitutionality. The Federal courts have affirmed that this program's current authorization and operation are legal and consistent with the Fourth Amendment. This body has voted several times with bipartisan majorities to reauthorize it.”