Pete Sessions: “I thank Senator Cornyn from Texas for his steadfast work on this issue. He is an extremely hard-working Senator. He gets…”

“I thank Senator Cornyn from Texas for his steadfast work on this issue. He is an extremely hard-working Senator. He gets these facts right. He is an extremely skilled lawyer and has a great legal mind. I hope the people will listen to his remarks. We have gone through this bill. This bill was carefully drafted the first time we voted on it. It came out of the Senate 4 years ago with only one ``no'' vote. We have had 4 years of experience with it. It is going to expire the end of this calendar year. We passed our version of reauthorization by unanimous consent in this body. Our Senate Judiciary Committee, which has some of the most civil libertarian lawyers in the Senate--in the country, for that matter--passed it out unanimously. I am shocked, surprised, and utterly disappointed that we went to conference--where we maintained position after position on our bill and the House conceded time and time again on their bill, to the extent that about 80 percent of the differing provisions were decided in favor of the Senate--and now have this unbelievable filibuster that blocked a bill which had so much bipartisan support, from coming up and being considered and given a vote. I thank the Chair. I see the distinguished ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the floor, Senator Levin. I am delighted to yield to him at this time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan is recognized.”