On the recordDecember 27, 2012
I rise in support of the Merkley-Lee amendment. I thank him for being lead cosponsor. I say to my colleagues, this is all about supporting the fourth amendment and opposing secret law. As we all know, in this Nation law consists of both the plain language and the court interpretations of what the plain language means. In the case of the FISA rulings, the public never finds out the second half and therefore doesn't really know when information will be collected, if you will, that is relevant to an investigation. No one ever knows what that means. The public should be able to know and should be able to weigh in. This amendment is constructed so it protects national security. It says this will only happen in cases when it is compatible with national security to release the FISA findings, and, second, you can do summaries instead, and if summaries are still causing a national security problem, a schedule is sufficient as to how the administration is reviewing these. It balances national security while it fights for the fourth amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
