Tom Udall: “I rise today with great remorse that we are considering the legislation before us. I believe that the basic foundation…”

“I rise today with great remorse that we are considering the legislation before us. I believe that the basic foundation of our Nation is inextricably linked between our national security and our civil liberties. Indeed, it was the very battle to secure our civil liberties that brought our Nation into being. Unfortunately, the current Attorney General and the White House continue to obfuscate the line between these links by casting inflammatory rhetoric that has little basis in truth. And now we have bad legislation and few options. The Senate has sent this bill to us and has gone home, leaving the House in the position of considerable difficulty. The effort of the House leadership in the last six months, and in particular in the past two weeks, has been one of compromise, of negotiation, and of listening, and the legislation upon which this body voted on yesterday demonstrated that. That is why I voted in favor of its passage. The legislation today is little more than an ill-advised attempt by the Senate at a quick fix that will do nothing to protect our civil liberties and everything to give the continued opportunity of threatening American citizens' freedoms. It is absolutely essential that the Congress deliberate extensively before reaching a final legislative conclusion on a matter of this magnitude.”