Jim Langevin: “this past week the Director of National Intelligence came before the Congress and told us that there was an important…”

“this past week the Director of National Intelligence came before the Congress and told us that there was an important gap in our Nation's intelligence capabilities. So we responded swiftly, by crafting legislation tailored to concerns outlined by Director McConnell. We did what the Director of National Intelligence asked us to do: we drafted legislation that protected America. But we also did one thing that the administration did not ask us to do: we protected the Constitution; we protected civil liberties. Because we believe that you can both protect the Nation and the liberties upon which it was founded. Regrettably, that is not the legislation that is before you today. This bill undermines longstanding protections for the civil liberties of Americans. It sweeps aside constitutional norms that have governed the relationship between the people and the government since its founding. It puts all domestic spying power back in the hands of Alberto Gonzales. Now, that ought to scare everybody. It scares me. It makes FISA a rubber stamp for the Attorney General, and it fails to provide for adequate oversight of the activities that it authorizes. I urge my colleagues to vote against the Senate bill that is before us tonight so that we can once again bring up the House bill that strikes a balance between protecting America from terrorists and preserving our civil liberties.”