Robert Smith: “I want to state publicly for the record, Senator Wyden and I began working on this issue together in great earnest this…”

“I want to state publicly for the record, Senator Wyden and I began working on this issue together in great earnest this last weekend because it was apparent that the good bill we had passed to the House was coming back as something less than that bill. Because of the unique circumstances described by Senator Wyden, every American should know that the bill we are about to pass tomorrow puts a stake in Oregon that says Oregon is open for business to terrorism. That is a stake we want to pull out because right now no undercover work is going on in Oregon for a whole variety of unusual reasons. That is where it is, and that must be fixed, or every American should know that the bill we will pass tomorrow is an illusion until it includes all 50 States. In my State, whether it is environmental terrorism, child pornography, drug runners, methamphetamine producers, or al-Qaida terrorist groups, they are finding aid and comfort from the absence of law enforcement when it comes to undercover activities. That must end or we are kidding the American people.”