[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10150]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  FISA

  Mr. HATCH. Finally, I wish to briefly turn to FISA. This Congress has 
been working on FISA modernization for over 400 days with apparently no 
end in sight. Should it take this long? The Constitution of the United 
States was written in about 115 days. That included travel time on 
horseback for the Founding Fathers.
  Congress has had plenty of time to debate this issue. We have to make 
sure we do not create unnecessary obstacles for intelligence analysts 
to track terrorists. As has been said, they can't connect the dots if 
they can't collect the dots.
  While negotiations continue, it is important to look at the two bills 
that have passed the Chambers. Let me paint a picture, a Tale of Two 
Bills, if you will. One bill was available for the public to review for 
over 4 months, went through 2 committees, had 2 weeks of floor debate 
including votes on 13 amendments, and passed the Chamber with a huge 
bipartisan veto-proof majority.
  The other bill was available for review for 2 days before receiving a 
vote. It went through no committees, had 1 hour of floor debate, 
allowed no amendments, and failed to receive bipartisan support, while 
barely passing the Chamber. Any negotiator would say the first bill in 
this instance would be the basis for negotiation, not the other way 
around. I am sure it is no surprise to anyone that the first one I 
described is the Senate-passed bill.
  Make no mistake, I will not support any compromise that disregards 
the extensive work of the Senate in order to facilitate a quick 
political fix.
  I appreciate those who are standing tall on the FISA bill in both 
Houses. I hope we continue to do so because our very country is in 
jeopardy if we do not.
  Also, I wish to personally pay tribute and give my gratitude and 
thanks to the distinguished Senator from North Dakota for his kindness 
in allowing me to make these remarks out of turn because they are 
important remarks. I would feel badly if I didn't get on the floor and 
make these remarks. It was a very gracious thing for him to do.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. I thank my colleague, Senator Hatch. He is always 
gracious. I also thank him for his words on Senator Kennedy because we 
know they have shared a close association in the Chamber for many 
years.
  I also thank him for his leadership on child pornography. It is 
pretty sick, some of the things that go on. It is almost hard to 
believe. I saw the slide the Senator from Utah showed about activity on 
just 1 day of this year, earlier this month. It is almost hard to 
comprehend. We thank him for his leadership there as well.
  Mr. HATCH. I thank my colleague for his kindness. He has always been 
very gracious and particularly gracious to me.

                          ____________________