mr. speaker , today , i rise in protest of rules committee 's refusal to make the sanders library amendment in order . 
just last month , this body passed an amendment that would have barred funds from being spent on the controversial 215 orders against libraries and bookstores . 
it simply would have protected the reading habits of our own citizens from government snooping . 
it passed by a vote of 238-187 . 
i can not protest enough that we are not debating and voting on this amendment again . 
section 215 allows a secret court to issue secret orders to anyone to turn over anything . 
it need not even be directed at a suspected terrorist . 
mr. sanders and i introduced an amendment that would have exempted library and bookstore reading records from these secret orders . 
the fbi still would have been able to get a regular warrant for reading records . 
however , the administration does n't even want to have to show any criminal activity before it starts digging into our reading records . 
it wants a free pass , and i will not willingly give it to them . 
consider this : the american library association has confirmed that the government , under some authority , has gone to a library , and asked for a list of everyone who checked out a book on osama bin laden . 
clearly , in the wake of the september 11 attacks , many innocent people are checking out books on osama bin laden . 
and therefore , many innocent people had their right to privacy violated by our own government . 
and there may be thousands more . 
we know that nearly 200 libraries have been contacted by local and federal officers since 9/11 . 
we must demand that they show some wrong doing on behalf of library patrons before they dive into their personal habits . 
let me also note that we tried to offer an amendment to increase the safety and security of our nation 's ports , rails , and mass transit systems by providing those segments of the transportation industry with the necessary tools and resources to reduce identified risks and vulnerabilities , but were shut down by the majority . 
the american people deserve these improvements , but the majority party will not even let us vote on the issue . 
in light of today 's bombing incident in london , it is all the more objectionable that the majority would foreclose critical amendments for the patriot act reauthorization on the floor . 
