Ted Poe: “Recorded conversations, warrantless surveillance of citizens, and government invasion of privacy--it sounds like a page…”

“Recorded conversations, warrantless surveillance of citizens, and government invasion of privacy--it sounds like a page out of George Orwell's novel ``1984.'' I don't know if you read this in high school or not, but my generation did. We never thought that this would ever take place in America. It is a book about Big Brother government. To quote Orwell, here is what he says about government: Always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed--no escape. It talks about government eyes watching America. But it is happening here in America, Mr. Speaker, behind the closed doors of government intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Big Brother, in my opinion, is watching. How? Through a piece of legislation called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. FISA allows our government to spy on foreign agents, including terrorists, primarily overseas. The government collects all of this information and puts it into a database. If government wants to use or search the database, they go to a secret FISA court, and that court issues a secret warrant to search the database. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and a former judge and a prosecutor, I want government to go after terrorists overseas who seek to harm Americans; nab them, lock them up, and get rid of them. What is of disturbing concern, Mr.…”