Political Quotes

“the Senate is now delaying a vote on FISA because Members are waking up to the fact that this surveillance authority is too dangerous to hand to any President without new reforms. And here is the bottom line. If there were the votes today to advance this bill right now, we would be voting. But when it comes to reauthorizing section 702, I am here to offer the judgment that the only path forward is reform. Here is how we got here. Two weeks ago, the leadership in the House executed the oldest play in the book when it comes to surveillance: They waited until a week before the bill was set to expire, there was no time to debate, and they tried to pass a straight reauthorization without reforms. What happened? A bipartisan coalition said: No way. Then they came back with a new bill that week, but it turned out that these so-called reforms made FISA 702 less accountable. That bill failed. Then the House voted on a straight extension of the law--again with no reforms. A bipartisan coalition voted that down. And now, this week, the House Republican leadership tried to sell a fake reform to their Members a third time. Once again, the body is in disarray. It is clear that Senators who voted to support the current FISA surveillance law in the past are now rethinking their positions. Every day, this administration demonstrates its contempt for the rule of law and its thirst for absolute power.”