Political Quotes

“Madam President, the U.S. Senate recently approved a 1- year extension of the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act with a voice vote. The extension was subsequently approved by the House and signed into law by President Obama. As I have argued for years that the Patriot Act is in need of serious reform, I would like to outline the changes I will keep working for as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Many of my colleagues who agree with me that reforms are needed think it would be difficult to have a constructive debate on domestic surveillance in the Senate right now. They think that next year will be a better time to have this debate, and that waiting will lead to a better opportunity to restore the best possible balance between fighting terrorism ferociously and protecting American rights and freedoms. Personally, I think that the reforms I am outlining today should have been made years ago. But based on the debate on the Patriot Act that took place in the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall, I agree that those of us who believe in reform need to spend more time making our case to our colleagues and the American people. So I will briefly address those reforms that I think are necessary, and the ways that I would like to see this debate move forward between now and next February, when these provisions will come up for renewal again. The three expiring provisions all involve domestic surveillance in one way or another.…”