Jerry Nadler

Claims of secrecy have been used to conceal matters from Congress even though Members have the security clearance necessary to be briefed.

The government simply cannot be allowed to hide behind unexamined claims of secrecy and become the final arbiter of its own conduct.

The natural tendency on the part of the executive branch to overstate claims of secrecy and to avoid disclosure whenever possible

Our experience has demonstrated the destructive impact that sweeping claims of privilege and secrecy can have on our Nation.

We clearly need to update our immigration policies to more efficiently promote family unification...

I want to thank my good friend Senator Dianne Feinstein, who introduced a private bill for Shirley.

This bill certainly should be made part of it. I will do my best to ensure that this is the case on the House side.

I heard your answer to Mr. Smith's question a moment ago about the Guantanamo detainees being released to the United States, but you were referring to terrorists released to be free in the United States, obviously, from the context of your…

We also have recently seen evidence of numerous mistakes and abuses by the FBI in using its NSL authority.

It is difficult to say what benefits this has yielded, because outside of general statements and idiosyncratic data on their use, I have not seen any hard, empirical evidence that this explosion in requests has had any measurable impact on…

These requests are done in secret and without court approval--there is no one to check the FBI.

I am going to keep talking about this issue until the relevant statutes get fixed--the privacy and constitutional rights of the American people are at stake.

I didn't ask that. I said do we have the capacity to hold dangerous people in our maximum security prisons.

To call the SPLC... a spurious organization is a little beyond the pale.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is, by almost unanimous consent, one of the most respected institutions in this country.

That is not law enforcement, that is subversion of the law.

It is important that the law is enforced effectively. It is also important that the rule of law is respected by everyone.

I would hope that this hearing has been productive and conducive to passing this legislation so that both the victims, the heroes of 9/11, and the contractors, who were also both heroes and victims, can be dealt with fairly and decently…

We want to get this right, but let's get it done already.

It is enough already. Let's just get this bill out, get it to the floor.

Does everyone agree the current bill is better than the previous bills?

Does everyone agree that we need to do something different?

I ask all of you, and all members of Congress, to appreciate both the substantive importance of this bill as well as the need to move it quickly to passage.

I respectfully ask you to do what you can to right this wrong.

This bill would make it available for payouts to people who do not opt into the VCF.