Ron Wyden: “I have enormous respect for Chairman Specter and Senator Leahy, and will say what is so troubling about this particular…”

“I have enormous respect for Chairman Specter and Senator Leahy, and will say what is so troubling about this particular period: Virtually every single day, almost every day, we see another report about the administration trying to skew the bounds between fighting terrorism ferociously and protecting the civil liberties of the people of our country. The front page of the paper today: Secret Pentagon databases are kept. Essentially, the administration, when somebody digs it up, finds out that all of this is being done--again in secret. As I have said many times, the two concepts--security and civil liberties--are not mutually exclusive, and when crafting legislation, they be approached in tandem. In fact, it is my view that the promotion of American security and the protection of Americans' rights and freedoms should be mutually reinforcing principles. If one goal is abandoned for the other, or one goal carries less importance than the other, then a new solution must be found. A new solution is certainly needed in this case. The PATRIOT Act conference report reflects the wholesale rejection of this two-pronged approach and relegates civil liberties to second class status. The conference report strips out those Senate provisions that helped ensure good Congressional oversight. It limits the ability of law- abiding Americans to defend themselves from possible PATRIOT Act abuses.…”