[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 848]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  FISA

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I was hoping that at this time today we 
would be talking about the work we had done on the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act. But we were unable to do that. What an unusual day. 
We were not allowed to vote on anything on this bill. I hope our 
friends in the press have been able to witness what took place today.
  We talk about last year the Republicans having caused us to try to 
invoke cloture more in 1 year than had ever happened in a Congress 
before. In 1 year, they obstructed more things than ever in the history 
of the country.
  Now we are starting this year, and they are objecting to their own 
bills. The President wants the bill passed. Every one of the 
Republicans--all 49 of them, I assume--will vote for this bill. So all 
they would need to pass it is two Democrats. I would have to suggest 
they probably could do that. They are so afraid they may take a vote 
that may not be something they want to take that they stop everything.
  This is the President's program. It is not our program. We have stood 
by since 9/11 telling the President: Anything that you need, we are 
here at your disposal. Just tell us what you need and we will do it. We 
only have one request--let's do it legally, constitutionally. If the 
present law is not sufficient, tell us what you need changed.
  We have been standing with our arms out since 9/11. But what we have 
learned now, since 9/11, is basically the President does not care what 
we do because he has been told--and he accepts the advice given to him 
by a man by the name of John Yoo, among others--that the President does 
not need to follow any law that Congress passes, that he is above the 
law. I am not making this up. This is the fact. Mr. Yoo has stated so 
before the world on television: The President does not need to follow 
any law that we pass. But in spite of that, we have said: Mr. 
President, we are willing to work with you. We don't think you have 
that authority. But here we are today, with the law about to expire, 
and the Vice President having made a speech yesterday, and the 
President making a statement today saying: They have to pass that bill.
  As I explained in some detail earlier today, they put us in a Catch-
22. No matter what we do, it does not meet their expectations. So I 
again repeat, I hope the press is watching this. I hope people who 
believe in good government are watching this. I hope the people are not 
going to accept Monday night, during the speech that he is going to 
give, or any statements made between now and the State of the Union 
Address, that we are holding up his legislation. We are not holding it 
up. The Republicans in the Senate are holding it up.

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