Political Quotes

“I want to echo a number of the comments my friend, the chairman, the Senator from North Carolina made. Ten days ago, we asked for reauthorization of section 702, and I came to this floor and advocated that this was a critically important tool. Part of the reforms of that legislation would even give us more insight into how that tool was used. We said, at that point, not only to those Members who didn't agree with us on that but to all of the Members--for that matter, the American people--that the Intelligence Committee would continue its vigorous oversight of that program and other programs. Being on the Intelligence Committee, at least until recently, has not been necessarily all that high attention and profile. We spend hundreds and hundreds of hours every month in a SCIF. One of the things I find so rewarding about the Intelligence Committee's work is that on issue after issue, you couldn't tell who is a Democrat and Republican. We all take extraordinarily serious our oversight responsibilities. If this exemption is granted, you could potentially have an administration--any administration--go off and take on covert activities, for example, with no ability for our committee, which spends the time and has the oversight, to say timeout or to say we actually disagree with that policy. I have been very disturbed about the whole process that arose in the House, how it was attempted to get slipped in.…”