Chuck Schumer: “If there is one key word that underscores this bill, it is "balance." In the new post-September 11 society that we face…”

“If there is one key word that underscores this bill, it is "balance." In the new post-September 11 society that we face, balance is going to be a key word. Technology has forced us to recalibrate in many different ways. The technology that allowed these horrible people to do what they did to my city and to America and the technology that allows law enforcement to try to catch up with them changes rapidly. No law can sit still as that technology changes and still be effective. The balance between the need to update our laws given the new challenges and the need to maintain our basic freedoms which distinguish us from our enemies is real. There have been some on the right who have said just pass anything. We just have to go after the terrorists and forget about our freedoms and our civil liberties.”