[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2464]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  FISA: PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICANS PLAY POLITICS WITH NATIONAL SECURITY

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, the politics of fear are alive and well in 
the Republican Party. Despite the fact that the House and Senate are 
actively working to craft a strong new FISA bill, Republicans and the 
White House refuse to attend the negotiations. Instead, they're 
insisting that this House simply rubber-stamp a bill that was recently 
passed by the Senate.
  The decision to boycott these negotiations shows that Republicans 
prefer a political issue rather than a strong new FISA bill.
  Democrats are hopeful that Republicans will consider their decision 
to sit on the sidelines and will instead join us in crafting a bill 
that protects our country while respecting the fundamental rights of 
American citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, House Democrats passed a bill in November that meets 
both of these criteria. Then, earlier this month, the Senate passed its 
own version. As is common procedure here on Capitol Hill, we are now in 
the process of negotiating the differences between the two bills in 
order to come up with the strongest bill possible. I would hope 
Republicans would want to remain relevant and would join us in passing 
the strongest FISA bill we can.

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