Orrin Hatch: “today I wish to speak on a critical national security issue: the importance of renewing the authority for essential…”

“today I wish to speak on a critical national security issue: the importance of renewing the authority for essential anti-terrorism tools which is set to expire by the time Congress returns to Washington after Memorial Day. Every single Member of this body remembers where he or she was on September 11, 2001. I was here in the Senate. I remember evacuating the Capitol and the office building. I remember standing on the lawn outside, wondering if a plane was headed toward this very building. That terrible day gave us a taste of what terrorists want to visit upon our country. We realized that these fanatics would stop at nothing to kill innocent men, women, and children and to bring our country to its knees. Knowing the threat this country faced, we resolved not to let bureaucratic red tape hinder the ability of our law enforcement and intelligence communities to keep us safe. As the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, I joined with colleagues of both parties as well as the Bush administration to craft the USA PATRIOT Act, which passed the Senate 98 to 1. The PATRIOT Act and its subsequent reauthorizations have proven critical to our ability to investigate terrorist threats and prevent another mass-casualty attack on the homeland. Let me make one matter perfectly clear: we continue to face a very serious terrorist threat.…”