madam speaker , i thank the gentleman from michigan for all of his good work and for yielding me the time now . 
i rise in opposition to the patriot act conference report . 
these provisions and many others have a deep impact on the freedoms and civil liberties of all americans . 
now , some will say we need these provisions to track down terrorists and build cases against them . 
but what is often unsaid is that these provisions will also be used against people who have committed no crime and who are completely innocent . 
it is because of that that the patriot act must be seen as something that affects all of us . 
searching business records can sweep up people , most of whom are innocent . 
a small number of unnecessary intrusions can have a broadly chilling effect . 
proponents of the patriot bill before us will say that it is directed against terrorists , not law-abiding citizens . 
but they should try to tell that to brandon mayfield of portland , oregon . 
mr. mayfield , an attorney , was detained by investigators last year as a material witness under authority granted through the patriot act . 
they alleged that his fingerprints were found on a bag linked to the terrorist bombings in madrid , spain . 
more so-called evidence was collected when his residence was searched without his knowledge under section 213 . 
however , the investigators were wrong . 
the fbi has issued an apology for his wrongful detention . 
but this is small conciliation for a lawyer and muslim american whose reputation was tarnished by the investigation . 
of course , some mistakes will occur . 
but this bill strikes the wrong balance and makes those errors more likely . 
it also allows the fact , the very fact of such a search to remain undisclosed to the subject indefinitely . 
i urge my colleagues to oppose this flawed conference report and protect the liberties and freedoms of our citizens that are central to what it means to be an american . 
