Protect America Act of 2007
PROTECT AMERICA ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - August 04, 2007)
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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
I want to thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, one of our most senior Members and a gentleman who is deeply committed to civil liberties and the protections being accorded that our Constitution guarantees to every citizen.
I also want to thank Mr. Reyes, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, an individual who has been involved in law enforcement all of his life before coming to the Congress of the United States, who understands the necessity for constraints on those in power.
We all understand as well the threat that confronts us from terrorism. And every Member of this body, without exception, wants to assure the safety and security of our homeland and of our people. Every Member of this body wants to assure that we have given to those in charge of protecting this country the tools necessary to accomplish that objective.
Our Founding Fathers were convinced that if we worked hard at it and cooperatively, that we could accomplish both of those objectives.
I want to congratulate Mr. Reyes and Mr. Conyers for working hard at this. I participated myself, as I have said the other day when we passed another bill, to accomplish what I believed was much better as far as both objectives.
I believe that every Member in this House wants to protect America. Each of us will exercise our judgment when this vote comes on whether or not this bill is supportable given what I think is the failure to pay attention, as it should have, to the constitutional protections while focusing on the protections against terrorism and against those who would harm and undermine the interests of our country. I regret that.
I spent time talking to Admiral McConnell. ROY BLUNT, my friend, and I spent time talking to Admiral McConnell. We spent time reviewing the legislation. I believe that we could reach agreement. I will tell my friends here that I think if we had been dealing with Admiral McConnell, that we would have reached agreement. It became evident, however, that that was not the case. I say that candidly and disappointedly. It became obvious that we were dealing with the administration. There are many of us in this House who believe the administration has focused on the security interests, unfortunately to the exclusion too often of the constitutional requirements.
I will be voting against this legislation, not because I don't want to give the tools to our security apparatus that I think they need, that I want them to have, that I think the American people expect us to make sure they have, but because I believe we have not reached the balance that our Founding Fathers expected.
Now, there would be some on my side and many on the other side who will vote for this legislation. From my perspective, however, we have much work that remains to be done. Mr. Reyes, Mr. Conyers, and Mr. Hoekstra will be working very hard during the coming days to fashion permanent legislation.
This legislation is for 6 months. And my plea to each one of us on this floor and to the administration is to work together to ensure that we protect both the American public from terrorists and, as our Founding Fathers expected our Constitution to do and as conservatives have always focused attention on, protecting our people from the excesses and abuse of those to whom we give power in this country. Because we have done that through the decades and centuries, our country is unique and respected for that protection of liberty and freedom.
So I urge my colleagues, whatever the outcome on this floor tonight, as we proceed over the next few months, let us work together as Americans committed to both of those objectives.
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