Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this carefully crafted legislation which gives our intelligence agencies all the tools they say they need to protect our country while protecting our fundamental civil liberties. In the last few weeks, we have heard countless assertions from our colleagues on the other side that are false and misleading. They claim that we allowed the Protect America Act to expir... Read more »

Mr. Speaker, the last few weeks, the last few minutes we have heard assertions from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that are false and designed to mislead and frighten the American people. They claim that we allowed the Protect America Act to expire, that we are dark for 27 days. Ken Wainstein, the Assistant Attorney General of the United States, and the Bush Administration admitted... Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3733, the FISA Amendments Act. This carefully crafted legislation gives our intelligence agencies all the tools they need to protect our country, while protecting our fundamental civil liberties. Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about what this legislation does not do. It does not require individual warrants for the targeting of foreign terrorists located... Read more »

Madam Speaker, the state secrets privilege is a common law doctrine that allows the Government to protect sensitive national security information from harmful disclosure in litigation. This privilege was first recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1953 case of U.S. v. Reynolds, a case brought by the widows of three civilian engineers against the U.S. Government for negligence in a military ... Read more »

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, I joined my colleagues in writing to the President urging him to sign this conference report. This conference report contains a provision that mirrors legislation which I authored with Congressman Delahunt, the American Anti-Torture Act, that would ensure a single, uniform baseline standard for all interrogations conducted by the U.S. intelligence community. I applau... Read more »

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the contempt resolutions. Unfortunately, these resolutions are necessary for Congress to meet its Constitutional obligations and conduct oversight and investigations. We provided many opportunities for the administration to avoid this situation. But here we are. We are here today to consider issuing contempt citations for former White House Counsel Harriet... Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5349, a 21-day extension of the existing FISA Act to provide Congress the time to work out the differences between the two Houses on this very important matter. It is a question of our Nation's security and it is a question of our Nation's values. We should not be stampeded into action when there is no need. This administration has the ability to monitor ter... Read more »

Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today in support of this resolution. Like all of my colleagues, I was deeply saddened to learn that our good friend, the distinguished gentleman from California, Tom Lantos, had passed away. And he was our good friend, unfailingly courteous and kind and helpful to all. Tom has left an inspiring legacy, and his passing is a great loss to our coun... Read more »

Mr. Speaker, today we have an opportunity to affirm America's values and our respect for the rule of law. This bill includes language drawn from the American Anti-Torture Act, introduced by myself and Representative Delahunt, that would extend the interrogation standards in the U.S. Army Field Manual to all interrogations conducted on persons in the custody or effective control of any element of ... Read more »

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007. This bill delivers on the promise of the 13th amendment by creating tough new enforcement tools to punish exploitation, whether by unscrupulous labor recruiters, diplomats who abuse their servants, or brutal pimps. It provides resources so that nongovernmental organizations, Feder... Read more »