On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
I have pledged in the past and I will pledge again today on this House floor that there will be hearings on a reauthorization of the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, as well as an oversight hearing on the Patriot Act as a whole. The three provisions that are up for reauthorization are important provisions to keep America safe, and I want to dispel some of the misinformation that has again been placed in the Record on the floor of the House today. First of all, section 215, which is the business records provision, has more strict standards for the issuance of a FISA warrant than the issuance of a Grand Jury subpoena in a criminal record. And only business records can be obtained. That means that it is not subject to the Fourth Amendment because it's not a search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The reauthorization in 2005, which I authored, provided procedures for recipients of section 215 warrants to seek judicial review of those orders compelling the production of business records. So people can have their day in court to have the warrant quashed.
