Date: 2007-11-15
Speaker: PATRICK J. MURPHY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Penn

And then just to reiterate the point that information among government agencies. Second. the bill removes vague and sylvania. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in that my colleague made in the previous overbroad language from the bill passed in support of the RESTORE Act and to speech. this is all about lawyering up August that would allow the wiretapping of setthe record straight on an issue that the process. and thats what extends conversations without a warrant if thecommuis close to my heart. the time. nication was "concerning" a foreign target. In May of 2007. three men from the At this point. I yield 1 minute to my That. by its own wording. suggests that if two 10th Mountain Division were captured colleague. Mr. KIRK of Illinois. citizens are in the United States talking about in Iraq. Theyre names are Specialist Mr. KIRK. I thank the gentleman. somebody overseas. that you could wiretap Alex Jiminez. Private First Class Jo- And as the leader of the moderates in their communications without a warrant. The seph Anzak. and Private Byron Fouty. this. I would say that this issue should bill before us makes it clear that the persons I recite their names because the right unite us all as Americans. not divide us involved in the communications must be overwing attack machine never does. But along partisan lines. seas. not just that the subject of their conthese are the facts. and theyre not I also speak as a Navy intelligence versation must be overseas. pretty. officer that would say that the provi- Third. the RESTORE Act goes a step furThe intelligence community stood sion that was newly included in this ther than the Administrations bill and allows ready to help find these three soldiers. legislation says that nothing in this for the expanded wiretapping authority only in But for 5 hours. for 5 hours. the Bush act shall prevent an intelligence officer cases involving "national security." as opadministration could not decide what from monitoring someone related to al posed to the overexpansive "foreign intelto do. When they decided to go ahead. Qaeda. Osama bin Laden or Ayman Al- ligence." "Foreign intelligence" could include no Bush administration official could Zawahiri.to prevent an attack against trade. deals or anything involving general forauthorize it. could be found to author- the United States. But so much of our eign affairs activities. ize it. But when they finally found the intelligence is beyond the imminent Finally. the RESTORE Act was made even Attorney General in Texas. it took an attack on the United States. So much stronger in Committee by requiring the Departadditional 2 hours to authorize the sur- of us in the intelligence world. we have ment of Justice. in its application to the Court. veillance. even though he could have to watch the earliest signs of this. to identity the "primary purpose" of its wiregranted the authority in just minutes. Lets be clear. this bill before us has tapping. Under the original FISA. when an Hours of indecision and incompetence nothing to do with the rights of U.S. agent wanted to obtain the authority to conwhile these three soldiers went miss- citizens. those are already protected. duct electronic surveillance or secret ing. As an intelligence officer. we are al- searches. a certificate was necessary detailing ways drilled on the code of conduct in what the purpose of the surveillance was in While the RESTORE Act can solve dealing with U.S. persons. This bill has order to obtain the warrant. The standard was many problems posed by the current everything to do with creating new altered by the Patriot Act. which provided that FISA law. it will not solve the problem rights for people overseas. And I think obtaining foreign intelligence only has to be "a in these soldiers situations. we should let our intelligence commu- significant purlSose."