[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2780-2781]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REAUTHORIZING OF PATRIOT ACT

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, today the Congress will send to the President 
of the United States the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act. Chairman 
Jim Sensenbrenner and other members of the Judiciary Committee and the 
conference committee are to be commended for their effort in putting 
together a bill that balances the liberty and security interests of the 
American people.
  This is an issue that is not just theoretical for me, Mr. Speaker. I 
not only serve on the House Judiciary Committee, but I was here on 
September 11, and I served on the committee as we built the PATRIOT Act 
in the immediate days following that national tragedy. That is why 
making 14 of the 16 provisions of the PATRIOT Act permanent is a 
critical element of ensuring the security of the American people, and 
putting safeguards on the two remaining provisions is evidence of a 
careful balancing act that has been accomplished in a bipartisan way.
  We must equip law enforcement and intelligence officials with the 
tools necessary to protect our Nation from terrorist attacks. We must 
also safeguard the civil liberties of the American people to fulfill 
the vision of freedom.

[[Page 2781]]

  For that reason, I urge my colleagues, with gratitude to our 
leadership, to move this PATRIOT Act to the President today.

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