Political Quotes

“I entered the Senate in the wake of Watergate in 1975. The very first vote I cast was in favor of creating the Select Committee to Study Government Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans--that is, the Church Committee. Through that Committee's work, the American public soon learned of years of abuses that had occurred at the hands of the executive branch's intelligence agencies. In response, the Senate passed sweeping reforms to rein in this overreach. Since then, more flaws and occasional abuses have been documented within our surveillance authorities, but the Senate rarely has had an opportunity to debate and improve them. We did so in 2015, when Senator Lee and I led the effort in the Senate to pass the USA FREEDOM Act. Senator Lee and I strongly believe the Senate should do the same now. We should strengthen the amicus program, ensure that all exculpatory information is provided to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and make other basic changes to better protect the civil liberties of all Americans. I am thankful that Majority Leader McConnell today has agreed to what Senator Lee and I requested last week--that we pass a short extension of the expiring FISA authorities to give us an opportunity to both review and improve the House bill with a limited number of amendments. Critically, this will give us time to take up this issue after the Senate responds to the coronavirus.…”