Political Quotes

“Madam President, let me be brief here. This legislation that we have been discussing passed the House of Representatives early this year, and it was unanimous. So for people who are following the debate, every single Republican--everyone in the other body--in effect, approved this legislation. Why did they do that? Because it clearly is sensitive to these national security concerns. We put in express exceptions for national security, including an area my colleague and I know a lot about, section 702 of FISA. My colleague was very kind to me. He said, gosh, if I wasn't here, he would miss me. Well, that is very kind and thoughtful, but what we are really missing is the overwhelming support from Republicans for this legislation. I spoke about the Members in the other body, and no one else is objecting here. I just think that, if we look at the writings of the Founding Fathers and their importance of a free press, what we ought to be saying is, yes, we should be listening to each other. That is why I made those changes since the last time my colleague from Arkansas objected. This is going to also--and I think my colleague and I would agree on this-- protect citizen journalists who don't have the legal budget to fight subpoenas the way big newspapers can. That is why my bill has been endorsed by independent journalists like Catherine Herridge. I understand that we don't have unanimous consent today. I think it is unfortunate.…”