[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 26, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H1036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        POLITICS OF FEAR IS BACK

  (Mr. WALZ of Minnesota asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, after a brief reprieve, the 
politics of fear is back in full force. The White House and my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying that the 
expiration of the Protect America Act has made this Nation more 
vulnerable. That is simply false. The Washington Post did a nice job of 
refuting this claim in saying Mr. Bush's pass-it-now-or-the-terrorists-
will-win rhetoric is overheated fearmongering.
  Before the Presidents Day recess, I encouraged my colleagues to stay 
in Washington and forge a bipartisan long-term solution. I regret that 
we didn't do that, but I'm not afraid of the expiration of the Protect 
America Act. I voted for that piece of legislation.
  As a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, I know the 
importance of having the tools to fight the terrorists. However, I'm 
committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
find a long-term bipartisan solution that strengthens national 
security, protects our civil liberties, and does so without providing 
blanket immunity to companies that may have broken our laws.
  I hope that we can end the fearmongering and the political rhetoric 
that have characterized this debate and get down to America's business. 
And I think it needs to be pointed very clearly to this Nation's 
enemies, this Nation is protected, this Nation stands united on the 
issue of protecting us, and no amount of rhetoric will change that.

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