i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time . 
mr. chairman , i want to associate myself with the remarks of the gentlewoman from california ( ms. zoe lofgren ) xz4002450 . 
and i also want to address the issue of oversight . 
and let me be very clear . 
the chairman has been most aggressive when it comes to oversight , and i want to publicly commend him , not just in terms of the patriot act , but many other issues that are within the jurisdiction of the judiciary committee . 
however , this is not about this particular chairman . 
it is about the responsibility of future members of the judiciary committee to exercise that responsibility . 
and i have a concern about oversight because , let us be honest , it is not easy dealing with the executive branch . 
we have all had that experience . 
we reach conclusions , but we really do not know . 
i can remember when the chairman himself discussed issuing a subpoena to bring the former attorney general , mr. ashcroft , before the committee to provide us information on the so-called heavy guidelines . 
that is what was necessary . 
just recently , i read where the vice chair of the government reform committee , looking into the expenditures of monies involving the development for the fund of iraq , expressed frustration with the lack of cooperation coming from the pentagon . 
i have served on an invitation basis under chairman dan burton investigating the misconduct of the fbi in the boston office , and again , it required the threat of a contempt petition to gain information from the department of justice . 
if we need to go that far then to exercise our oversight constitutional responsibility , it is not an easy job to do . 
so that is why all of the discussions today about oversight are framed in that context . 
