On the recordMay 22, 2014
I reluctantly vote for H.R. 3361. I do so because I recognize that important authorities which help keep our people safe expire next year and that there is a significant chance that those authorities may not be renewed. I also recognize that the abuse of government power by the Obama Administration has damaged the trust that the American people have even in the military and civilian professionals at the National Security Agency. An orchestrated campaign of distortions and half-truths has called NSA's trustworthiness into question for too many Americans. That is unfortunate and unfair. The men and women at NSA have had more than a decade of remarkable success, not only in protecting our country from another 9/11-type attack, but supporting our warfighters on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. While few Americans will ever learn the details of their accomplishments, we all benefit from their hard work, dedication to their mission, and professionalism. We should be clear-eyed about the effects of this bill. It makes it harder to gather the information necessary to stop terrorism; it means that it will take longer to find the essential connections of terrorist networks; and this bill makes it less likely, hopefully only slightly less likely, that we will stop future terrorist attacks. But there is no doubt that America will be less safe from terrorist attack after this bill takes effect than it is today.…
