Patrick Leahy: “last Thursday, October 4, I was pleased to introduce with the Majority Leader, Senator Daschle, and the Chairmen of the…”

“last Thursday, October 4, I was pleased to introduce with the Majority Leader, Senator Daschle, and the Chairmen of the Banking and Intelligence Committees, as well as the Minority Leader, Senator Lott, and Senator Hatch and Senator Shelby, the United and Strengthening America, or USA Act. This is not the bill that I, or any of the sponsors, would have written if compromise was unnecessary. Nor is the bill the administration initially proposed and the Attorney General delivered to us on September 19, at a meeting in the Capitol. We were able to refine and supplement the administration's original proposal in a number of ways. The administration accepted a number of the practical steps I had originally proposed on September 19 to improve our security on the Northern Border, assist our Federal, State and local law enforcement officers and provide compensation to the victims of terrorist acts and to the public safety officers who gave their lives to protect ours. This USA Act also provides important checks on the proposed expansion of government powers that were not contained in the Attorney General's initial proposal. In negotiations with the administration, I have done my best to strike a reasonable balance between the need to address the threat of terrorism, which we all keenly feel at the present time, and the need to protect our constitutional freedoms.”