mr. speaker , on 9/11 , evil terrorists , murderers , if you will , inspired and motivated by fanaticism and hatred attacked our country and nearly 3 , 000 innocent americans expired . 
it would be a simple matter to overreact to such an attack ; but our response , for the most part , mr. speaker , has been thorough and deliberate . 
the judiciary subcommittee on crime , terrorism and homeland security alone conducted nine hearings , coupled with two additional hearings before the full house judiciary committee . 
other committees as well conducted hearings . 
so this seems to me refutes the charge that this act has been hurriedly rammed through the congress . 
i spoke earlier on this floor , mr. speaker , of a constituent who urged me to lead an effort to repeal the patriot act . 
when i asked him to cite examples where civil liberties had been abused , he could offer none . 
other opponents of the act have likewise been unable to document evidence of abuses . 
some have said , well , these points are irrelevant . 
they are not irrelevant at all , mr. speaker , when you are talking to people who oppose the act , but yet are unable to offer evidence to support their opposition . 
i think it is relevant , indeed . 
finally , mr. speaker , i am going to touch on a point that i think many americans have inadvertently ignored , and that is the fact that there are in excess of 360 ports in the united states and this bill provides basic and much-needed protection thereto . 
it is clear that our ports and harbors are significant and appealing targets for terrorist attacks . 
we can not afford to leave these areas unprotected or hamstring law enforcement efforts to provide basic security against terrorists . 
mr. speaker , i am not trying to be a chicken little and shouting that the sky is falling , but just because we have not been attacked subsequently since 9/11 does not indicate to me that these terrorists , i call them murderers , they are murderers , are asleep at the switch . 
they are continuing to plot , and we can not turn a blind eye to them . 
is this act perfect ? 
no . 
not many acts that find their way through this congress are perfect . 
but it is a piece of legislation that should be enacted , and i urge support . 
