Political Quotes

“I would agree with my friend, the former attorney general of Texas, the PATRIOT Act has made America a safer place. I think that is a fair statement. But I would also say the PATRIOT Act is something we have to watch very closely. We realized when we passed this legislation there may be provisions in it that went too far, not far enough. As a result of that, we have put a provision in this very important bill, the PATRIOT Act, that it would sunset; that if we did not renew that legislation, it would fail; therefore, next year we have to renew this act. I am confident, based on what is going on around the country, in spite of the statement from the American Civil Liberties Union--we can look to Las Vegas, my home, on one criminal prosecution, what the authorities did there. It is my understanding they used the PATRIOT Act. A person bought a car with global positioning in it. The reason they bought that, of course, is in case something went wrong you could press a button and come and find out where the car is, or, if it was an emergency, someone trying to hijack the car, emergency authorities would be notified. The person never realized law enforcement authorities could focus on that vehicle and listen to everything that went on in that car. That is what they did. I would have to think without getting a judge's order, without doing some things in addition to what I have described, that was probably going a little too far.”