Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his great leadership of the Intelligence Committee, and I thank our members of the Intelligence Committee on both sides of the aisle for their important work to protect our national security.

Having served there, I know it is a place where we strive for bipartisanship.

Mr. Chair, as the gentleman indicated, I came to this committee in the early nineties, and my purpose was to protect the civil liberties as we protected the national security of our country. I had two purposes. One was to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and secondly, on par with that, was to make sure that we protect the civil liberties.

Over the course of that time, I have voted for legislation that is less than what I would have liked but advanced the cause. Both the chair and the ranking member have put forth a very clear idea about why 702 is important, and I associate myself with their remarks.

I just want to say to this: I went in, in the early nineties. I became the ranking member, the top Democrat on the committee. For 20 years, I was in the Gang of Eight, in terms of receiving intelligence, up until last year when I stopped being the Speaker of the House. For that whole time, it has been about what this means to the civil liberties of the American people.

I had a bill that we brought when former President Bush was President that addressed some of our FISA concerns that didn't go all the way. This bill does.

In this legislation, there are scores of provisions that could strengthen our case for civil liberties. Some of them are improvements on existing law. Some of them are new provisions in the law to protect the civil liberties of the American people.

Therefore, the Biggs amendment seriously undermines our ability to protect national security, and I urge our colleagues to vote against it.

I don't have the time right now, but if Members want to know, I will tell them how we could have been saved from 9/11 if we didn't have to have the additional warrants.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on the Biggs amendment and a ``yes'' vote on the bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source