Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there has been some criticism today that section 215, business records authority, gives national security agencies too much access to confidential records, but section 215 has more strict requirements than grand jury subpoenas used in criminal investigations. Unlike a grand jury subpoena, which is not issued by a judge, a 215 order can only be used by a FISA court judge. Section 215 only grants terrorism investigators the power to get records held by third parties, such as a hotel or car rental records. Also there has been criticism that section 215 violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. However, a request for business records held by a third party is not a search under the Fourth Amendment. The target of an investigation does not own the records and therefore has no reasonable expectation of privacy in them. Section 215 cannot be used to acquire records of U.S. persons based solely on First Amendment protected activity. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.”