Bernie Sanders: “I yield myself 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Mr. Speaker, along with the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Otter), the gentleman…”

“I yield myself 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Mr. Speaker, along with the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Otter), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall), I am again offering the freedom to read amendment. This tripartisan amendment, which has the support of progressives, conservatives and people of all political stripes, would prevent the Justice Department and the FBI from using section 215 of the PATRIOT Act to access library circulation records, library patron lists, book sale records or book customer lists. This amendment is being supported throughout our country by librarians, book sellers and all Americans who want Congress to be vigorous in protecting the American people from terrorism, but want to make sure that we do that without undermining the basic constitutional rights which have made us the free country that we are. Mr. Speaker, this amendment is similar to the amendment I offered last year, which lost by a 210-210 vote after the voting rolls had been kept open for an extra 20 minutes. There is one difference in this amendment compared to last year's that I do want to emphasize: I have heard from some Members who have expressed concerns about the possible need for the FBI to access library Internet records.…”