Political Quotes

“I have been having a lot of people ask me where we are on the USA Freedom Act of 2015, and we actually have a very interesting, easy choice: We can either pass the bipartisan bill the House of Representatives passed with a majority of Republicans and a majority of Democrats voting for it, or we can let the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act sunset at the end of the month. Some may prefer that. I think the House made a number of improvements which protect our freedoms and protect our security, and that is what we ought to pass. Some people have talked about short-term extensions. Well, we could have a 2-day extension or we could have a 5,000-year extension; we would be extending something that doesn't exist. The fact is that the House gave us the USA FREEDOM Act in plenty of time to act upon it, to amend it if we wanted to, to send it back and go to a conference. But now the House has adjourned and gone on recess. If we don't vote for their bill, we will end up at the end of the month with nothing. There will be nothing to extend. We could feel good about passing an extension, but we can't extend something that is dead. I have worked for more than two years with Members of Congress from both parties and in both Chambers to develop the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. It is a commonsense, balanced reform bill that protects Americans' privacy, while also ensuring our national security.…”