mr. chairman , i appreciate the gentlewoman 's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this amendment . 
i am pleased with the efforts that are under way here on the floor to help try to deal with the shape of the patriot act . 
this is a critical discussion . 
we have been fighting the war on terror longer than we fought world war ii , and it appears to be that this is going to be in the american landscape for as far into the future as we can see . 
this amendment helps get a handle on the sneak-and-peak provisions . 
section 213 , which authorizes the sneak- and-peak investigation , is not restricted to terrorists or terrorism offenses . 
it may be used in connection with any federal crime , including misdemeanors . 
the patriot act did not establish oversight standards for these investigations . 
the public has a right to know how these activities are being undertaken . 
we saw one of these searches in oregon go sideways and devastate the life of a local attorney . 
brandon mayfield was jailed for 2 weeks as his name was leaked to the media , falsely linking him to the madrid bombing . 
now this man is suing the fbi ; but he will never , never be able to clear his name . 
i appreciate what my friends , the gentleman from arizona ( mr. flake ) xz4001340 and the gentleman from idaho ( mr. otter ) xz4003050 , have attempted to do here , narrowing the application and providing more information to congress . 
this is critical . 
i would hope we would be able to push the limits a little further . 
i am very apprehensive about this , but we are involved with a process that is very important for congress . 
as i mentioned , this is what we see for as long as the eye can view . 
in 2001 , just days after 9/11 , we rushed through a bill that simply cast aside the important by-products that were developed by the committee on the judiciary on a bipartisan basis . 
i am hopeful that this is going to give us a chance to work together to deal with the important security provisions . 
nobody wants america at risk ; but it is important that we narrow provisions , wherever possible , that we have appropriate sunset provisions and that we are monitoring carefully . 
it is critical both for the civil liberties of americans and for developing the right tools to fight terrorism . 
