On the recordFebruary 14, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I want to give my friend from California and other Members a little history lesson. When the Patriot Act was drafted in 2001, I insisted on the sunset and the then-Republican-controlled House prevailed on that issue against the then-Democrat-controlled Senate. I resisted repeal of the sunset prematurely, and in 2005, the Judiciary Committee, when I was chairman, had hearings on each of the 17 provisions. There was no controversy about 14 of those provisions. Even the ACLU testified in behalf, that those provisions have not been abused. So 14 of the provisions were made permanent. This law has not trampled on anybody's civil rights. Where there was a constitutional problem with section 215, it was fixed in the reauthorization, and I'm getting a little bit irritated at the scare-mongering that has been going on about this law when no provision has been held unconstitutional by a court.
