Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the subcommittee. Mr. Chairman, the tragic mass shooting in Florida Sunday morning is but the latest in a string of terror attacks here in America. Sadly, these plots have not been carried out by foreign terrorists but by Americans against Americans, on American soil. We are all searching for the same answer: What motivated Omar Mateen to kill? Investigators are still combing through evidence to determine whether Mateen was in contact with known or suspected terrorists. This amendment prohibits the government from searching data already in its possession, collected lawfully under section 702 of FISA, to determine whether Omar Mateen was in contact with foreign terrorists overseas. Despite the characterization by proponents of the amendment that a search could occur if the government has obtained a FISA or criminal probable cause-based order, the exception does not, in fact, authorize such a query. Section 702 and the other provisions of the FISA Amendments Act are not set to expire until December 31 of next year. The House Judiciary Committee shares the concerns of all here that we protect all Americans' rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The committee has engaged and will continue to be engaged in robust oversight of the programs operated under the act. A floor amendment to a spending bill debated for 10 minutes is not the appropriate venue for Congress to alter our intelligence gathering capabilities.…”