OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 Veto Message from the President of the United States

Floor Speech

Date: March 11, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Foreign Affairs

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I am astounded that you can use the words ``torture'' and ``waterboarding'' as though you were not on the committee of jurisdiction knowing about it as an ex-officio at the time it is to have occurred. I am shocked that this is going to be all about a procedure or procedures that in fact the Speaker of the House had the ability to know about and condoned for years. I am shocked that the Speaker of the House would speak about David Petraeus, when in fact David Petraeus has said publicly and privately: ``You know, on the battlefield of Iraq, I can kill the enemy, but I can't listen to him if he calls America.''

This today should be about what we haven't done. We haven't taken up the Senate's FISA bill. We haven't dealt with the fact that we are in danger every day, and as a member of the intelligence community, I know just how damaging the absence of action has been.

This bill has become a partisan bill, and wrongly so. I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fix it and move on, rather than complaining about something that the Speaker is well aware of.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward