Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, since its enactment in 2001, the Patriot Act has been the object of so many false allegations and exaggerations that the myths have overshadowed the truth. It is time to dispel the myths once and for all. Let's begin with the myth that national security officials do not need these provisions to protect us from terrorist attacks. This is demonstrably untrue. Numerous terrorist attempts in the last 10 years have been thwarted thanks to the intelligence gathering tools provided in the Patriot Act and other national security laws, and if Congress fails to extend these provisions set to expire on February 28, it will be on our shoulders if the intelligence needed to stop the next attack is not collected. Opponents claim that these expiring provisions of the Patriot Act violate the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. This, too, is false. Each of the provisions at issue amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Enacted in 1978, FISA sets forth specific intelligence gathering procedures that do comply with constitutional protections and have been consistently upheld by the courts. Let's also dispel the myth that these provisions grant broad- sweeping, unchecked authority for the government to collect information on innocent Americans. Again, this is absolutely untrue. These types of provisions have been used by domestic law enforcement agencies for years to apprehend typical criminals.…”