S5470 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 26, 2012 

into the WNBA after leading her college team to an undefeated 39 to 0 season and her second national championship. She now plays for the Chicago 

Sky. 

Born and raised in Springfield, basketball swingman Andre Iguodala will 

represent the United States on the 2012 

Dream Team, or Dream Team Three. 

His jersey number is now retired at 

Lanphier High School, where he was 

both a star student and athlete. 

Star defender on the women’s soccer 

team, Amy LePeilbet grew up in Crystal Lake. Her high school coach at 

Prairie Ridge remembers her not only 

for her athleticism but for her work 

ethic and persistence. She will compete 

as a member of the U.S. women’s soccer team in London. 

Each of these athletes has arrived in 

London as a result of years of perseverance and hard work. They have woken 

up in the dark for early morning practices and endured aching muscles and 

sore limbs. They have arrived early and 

stayed late, spending hours at the gym, 

on the field, or in the pool training for 

this moment and their Olympic dream. 

I congratulate the athletes from Illinois and every athlete representing his 

or her country at these Olympic games. 

I look forward to watching them over 

the coming weeks as they compete for 

Olympic Gold. 

f 

2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I 

am honored on the opening day of the 

2012 London Olympics to congratulate 

our U.S. Olympic and Paralympic 

Teams. Proudly, 16 of our top Olympian athletes hail from Connecticut, 

including 6 women, who played for our 

legendary University of Connecticut 

women’s teams and will represent our 

State and Nation as members of the 

U.S. women’s basketball team. 

These athletes will make history on 

a global stage, representing the United 

States and sharing personal stories 

that fuel their drive to win. They have 

this momentous opportunity and responsibility because they have worked 

hard, demonstrated unremitting character and integrity, and believed in the 

power of athletic excellence to bring 

our nation and the world together. 

Six extraordinary UConn alumni will 

compete as members of the 2012 U.S. 

women’s basketball team: Sue Bird, 

Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Asjha Jones, 

Maya Moore, and Diana Taurasi. All 

six players brought UConn teams to 

national championships during their 

college careers. The head coach of the 

U.S. Olympic team, Geno Auriemma, 

has led the University of Connecticut 

teams through many exciting seasons 

while serving as a tremendous role 

model and mentor. Both Asjha Jones 

and Tina Charles currently live in 

Uncasville and play for the Connecticut Sun. Although the others may 

no longer list Connecticut as their formal residence, these players remain a 

part of our lives. 

Charlie Cole, Ken Jurkowski, Nick 

LaCava, Sara Hendershot, and Sarah 

Trowbridge will compete in London as 

members of our U.S. rowing team. Mr. 

Cole grew up in New Canaan, CT, and 

attended New Canaan High School and 

Yale University where he rowed for the 

heavyweight team. He has received 

many national and international titles, 

including most recently winning the 

pair at the 2012 National Selection Regatta number 1 and finishing fourth in 

the four at the 2011 World Rowing 

Championships. He has been named 

USRowing’s 2011 Athlete of the Year. 

Mr. Jurkowski was raised in New 

Fairfield and attended New Fairfield 

High School and Cornell University, 

where he walked onto the team his 

freshman year, competed all 4 years, 

and graduated with a degree in biological engineering. He has also served as a 

volunteer assistant coach for the University of Texas women’s rowing team. 

In London, he will compete in the single sculls event an event that he placed 

11th in during the 2008 Beijing games. 

Mr. LaCava is from Weston, CT, and 

attended Phillips Exeter Academy and 

Columbia University. Among other distinctions, he placed fifth in the lightweight eight at the 2011World Rowing 

Championships and placed first at the 

lightweight eight at the 2011 Head of 

the Charles Regatta. In London, he will 

compete in the men’s lightweight four. 

Ms. Hendershot grew up in West 

Simsbury Connecticut, only starting to 

row in 2003 as a high school freshman. 

Already by 2004 and again in 2005, she 

won the open eight at the USRowing 

National Championships. She rowed for 

Princeton University and graduated in 

2010. She will compete in the Women’s 

Pair in London with Sarah Zelenka of 

Illinois. 

Ms. Trowbridge was born in Washington, DC, and is a member of the Potomac Boat Club. She was raised in 

Guilford, CT, and attended Guilford 

High School. She rowed at University 

of Michigan on a scholarship. Most recently among her international and national results, she finished ninth in the 

double sculls at the 2011 World Rowing 

Championships and won the double 

sculls at the 2011 National Selection 

Regatta No. 2. She cites her parents, 

coaches, teammates, and Olympic hero, 

Nadia Comaneci, as inspirations. She 

will compete in the Women’s Double 

Sculls event. 

Craig Kinsley and Donn Cabral will 

represent the United States in track 

and field. Hailing from Fairfield, CT, 

Mr. Kinsley brings his experience at 

high jump and javelin at Fairfield Preparatory High School and Brown University to the international arena. He 

won the NCAA title in the javelin 

event in 2010 and in the same year was 

named Academic All-American and 

Northeast Region Field Athlete of the 

Year by the U.S. Track and Field and 

Cross Country Coaches Association. At 

Brown University, he studied geology 

and economics. 

Mr. Cabral was born and raised in 

Glastonbury, CT. He attended Princeton University, where he received AllAmerican titles in track and field and 

cross country, and in 2012 won the 

NCAA title and set the U.S. collegiate 

record in the steeplechase event. He 

will compete in the Men’s 3000M steeplechase this Olympic games. 

Rob Crane will hit the water in sailing. Born in Stamford and raised in 

Darien, he went on to attend the 

Holderness School and Hobart College. 

He continues a family legacy of sailing, 

joining the ranks of his mother and father, who won world and North American championships, respectively. In 

2011, he finished 14th in the International Sailing Association and 

Federal’s Sailing World Championships. This Olympics, he will participate in the men’s singlehanded laser 

dinghy sailing event. 

In addition to the successes of these 

10 accomplished and inspiring athletes, 

I wish to recognize all around the 

world poised to participate in the USA 

Paralympics. Guided by the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Paralympic Military, 

Veteran, and Community Program, 

State and local communities have developed important programs to enable 

individuals with physical or visual disabilities to participate and compete in 

sports. The growing prevalence of community level sports clubs, such as the 

paralympic sports clubs, offers disabled 

Americans the opportunity to come together as a community, share their 

love of sports, and rally around each 

other. 

Our American competitors are inspirational to athletes and nonathletes of 

all generations. Athletics and sportsmanship connect us, reaching the core 

of our humanity. They represent our 

hopes, dreams, and aspirations. They 

serve as national and international diplomats, working together as a team to 

best represent our country. Along with 

my Senate colleagues, I wish our athletes from Connecticut and around the 

Nation the best of luck and thank 

them for their incredible public service 

as leaders during these Olympic games. 

f 

EXTENSION OF THE FISA 

AMENDMENTS ACT 

Mr. LEAHY. Last week, the Judiciary Committee considered S.3276, a bill 

reauthorizing the surveillance provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 

2008, which is set to expire at the end of 

this year. The Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General 

have both stated that reauthorization 

of these important national security 

authorities is the ‘‘top legislative priority of the Intelligence Community.’’ 

After the Senate Select Committee 

on Intelligence reported its reauthorization bill, I asked for a sequential referral. Senator GRASSLEY joined me in 

that request. It was for a limited time 

and had we not completed our markup 

last Thursday, time might well have 

expired for this committee to act on it. 

I was surprised last week and since to 

be criticized for seeking to improve the 


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July 26, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5471 

bill within its four corners. I thought 

that was why we sought the sequential 

referral, in order to consider and improve the bill where we could. 

I worked with Senator FEINSTEIN, the 

chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence. We came to an understanding 

and she supported the substitute 

amendment I offered to shorten the 

sunset and add more accountability 

and oversight protections. I thank her 

for that. I am always willing to work 

with the Senator from California, who 

is so diligent in her efforts on the Intelligence Committee. We reached a 

good compromise and agreement. 

I had circulated the core of my 

amendment, to shorten the sunset, 

back on July 11, before the bill was to 

be considered. At the request of Republican members of the Judiciary Committee, the bill was held over. I protected their right to do so under our 

rules. We finally proceeded to the bill 

last Thursday, July 19. Despite the 

delay, no Republicans spoke to me 

about any potential amendments to 

the bill. 

Instead, the evening before the delayed markup, for the first time, Republican offices circulated scores of 

amendments. It is unfortunate that 

there have been mischaracterizations 

of our committee process. Contrary to 

the statements of some on the other 

side, no one was precluded from offering an amendment. In fact, a number 

were offered by Republican Senators. 

The committee proceeded to vote on 

Senator KYL’s amendment, for example, to create a new material support of 

terrorism offense in title 18, and rejected it after Senator FEINSTEIN argued against including it on this important measure, despite her support 

for the substance of the amendment. 

We proceeded to vote on Senator LEE’s 

amendment, which was about FISA 

surveillance, and it, too, was defeated. 

So despite the misstatements to the 

contrary, the committee proceeded to 

consider and reject amendments. 

There came a point during our initial 

2-hour markup when Senator FEINSTEIN

urged that amendments about matters 

not involving the FISA Amendments 

Act extension be considered on other 

vehicles at other times, and moved to 

table amendments. Those motions prevailed. We have had such motions before and sometimes they succeed. 

After 2 hours, as Republican Senators 

left, we lost a quorum and had to reconvene to vote on reporting the bill as 

amended to the Senate. I thank those 

Senators from both sides of the aisle 

who reconvened. The committee voted 

to report the measure and was able to 

do so within the short timeframe of our 

sequential referral. 

The FISA Amendments Act legislation is a top priority of the administration and our intelligence community. 

We have all acknowledged that. The 

ranking member acknowledged that it 

is ‘‘a program vital to our national security.’’ A number of Republicans proclaimed last week that they were ready 

to expedite consideration of the measure and would not offer amendments. 

Then, when the committee adopted the 

June 2015 sunset date instead of one of 

the 2017 dates in other versions of the 

bill, they changed position and sought 

to use it as a vehicle for extraneous 

matters and to offer a number of riders 

to it that were rejected. I do not understand that logic and why the change in 

the sunset date or the addition of oversight provisions should change the 

character of the bill or its importance 

to our national security. The bill is 

needed to continue the authority to 

conduct electronic surveillance of nonU.S. persons overseas under certain 

procedures approved by the FISA 

Court. 

The Justice Department and DNI 

have told us: 

[It] is vital in keeping the Nation safe. It 

provides information about the plans and 

identities of terrorists, allowing us to 

glimpse inside terrorist organizations and 

obtain information about how those groups 

function and receive support. In addition, it 

lets us collect information about the intentions and capabilities of weapons 

proliferators and other foreign adversaries 

who threaten the United States. Failure to 

reauthorize Section 702 would result in a loss 

of significant intelligence and impede the 

ability of the intelligence community to respond quickly to new threats and intelligence opportunities. 

The committee agreed with Senator 

FEINSTEIN when she asked us not to 

open the bill up to ‘‘extraneous amendments.’’ As it was, the committee considered half a dozen amendments offered by Republican Senators. I appreciated Senator KYL volunteering to 

have his staff convene a meeting to 

consider amendments to our terrorist 

statutes that he does not think will be 

controversial. 

Notably, the vast majority of the 

amendments filed and offered by the 

Republicans would not have changed or 

added a single word to either the underlying bill or the underlying statute. 

Senator LEE’s amendment was the only 

Republican amendment that dealt in 

any way with the relevant FISA authorities. That amendment received an 

up-or-down vote by the committee, and 

most Republican members voted 

against it. 

Once it became clear that the Republican Senators intended to offer a series of extraneous amendments, Senator FEINSTEIN moved to table amendments that were not germane to her 

bill. She has that right. I protect the 

rights of all members of the committee, Republicans and Democrats. 

Four such amendments were tabled, 

but notably they were tabled by a vote 

of the full committee, not simply 

through a ruling by the chairman or 

my making up rules, as Republican 

chairmen have done in the past. Indeed, although a motion to table is 

typically not subject to debate, I asked 

the committee’s indulgence to permit 

such discussion. No Senator was cut off 

from offering amendments or engaging 

in debate. 

It is telling that the two amendments that Senator GRASSLEY offered 

during the committee’s consideration 

of the FISA Amendments Act had absolutely no connection whatsoever with 

the provisions of title VII of FISA. The 

first amendment that Senator GRASSLEY offered would have added the death 

penalty as a punishment to certain 

crimes involving weapons of mass destruction. The second amendment that 

he offered would have required a Department of Justice Inspector General 

audit of criminal wiretap applications 

from 2009 to 2010. This amendment may 

be important to Senator GRASSLEY in 

the context of the Fast and Furious 

controversy, but it certainly is not relevant to the FISA Amendments Act. 

Senator FEINSTEIN moved to table both 

amendments and the motion carried 

each time. 

Let us be accurate, Republican members of the committee were afforded 

the opportunity to offer amendments, 

even ones outside the scope of the legislation. The committee has a process, 

and we followed that process. 

I understand that Republican Senators are disappointed that they were 

not able to use the FISA Amendments 

Act legislation as a vehicle to carry 

other legislation. I am disappointed 

that, as with so many good bills the 

committee has reported, there was so 

little Republican support for a measure 

that everyone concedes is vital to our 

national security. Like the Violence 

Against Women Reauthorization Act, 

which received no Republican vote on 

this committee; and the Second Chance 

Act, which received no Republican 

votes on this committee after a number of Republican amendments were 

considered and even though it had been 

a program strongly supported by Republicans historically; the FISA 

Amendments Act Sunsets Extension 

Act was not supported by a single Republican Senator on this committee. 

Let me remind Senators, again, that 

the Director of National Intelligence 

and the Attorney General have emphasized that the reauthorization of the 

FISA Amendments Act is the intelligence community’s ‘‘top legislative 

priority.’’ I encourage any Senator who 

has not yet done so to review the classified information that the administration has provided to Congress about 

the implementation of the FISA 

Amendments Act. This is a measure 

that requires serious debate and swift 

action not partisan bickering or baseless accusations. I sincerely hope that 

we can set aside the election year posturing and press ahead with consideration of this important national security measure. The American people deserve no less. 

f 

FAA SUNSETS EXTENSION ACT 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, on 

July 19, the Judiciary Committee considered legislation to reauthorize the 

title VII provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. These surveillance authorities are vital to our 


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