madam speaker , i rise in support of the motion to instruct . 
this bill makes permanent the most dangerous and intrusive provisions of the patriot act , 14 of the 16 previously sunsetted provisions . 
the remaining two sunsetting provisions are renewed for 10 years . 
ten years is not a sunset . 
ten years is quasi-permanent . 
these provisions are particularly worrisome because they expand the powers of the police to pry into the privacy of ordinary americans , to go into their homes , into their papers , into their internet records , their telephone records , their medical records , their bank records . 
reinstating the sunset is about accountability . 
the breadth of these provisions providing for roving wiretaps , for sneak-and-peek searches , for invading library privacy and section 505 , expanding the use of national security letters invites abuse . 
the administration assures us , the chairman assures us that these provisions have not been abused . 
but how do we know ? 
it is all secret . 
we were told repeatedly that section 215 we should not worry about ; it is rarely if ever used to demand library records . 
now we know why . 
the washington post revealed last sunday that the fbi issues more than 30 , 000 section 505 national security letters a year , many to libraries for `` preliminary investigations and threat assessments '' before deciding whether or not to launch an investigation . 
these tens of thousands of invasive government demands for sensitive and private information which never even go before a judge have resulted in the collection of probably hundreds of millions of personal facts regarding innocent americans , innocent american residents , citizens , and businesses . 
and the bush administration has decided to file all this personal information in government databases even if no basis is found for a real investigation and they will not even rule out selling this information to private conditions . 
sunsets have been the major check , albeit probably inadequate checks , on abuse of the patriot act . 
they mean that at least every 4 years congress is required to look at the law again , to revisit it , and has the opportunity to ask tough questions on the use or abuse of these powers , and most important , the administration can not stonewall these questions except for every 4 years . 
we should have to look into these burdens on our civil liberties at least one in four years and ask are these powers being abused , should they be fine tuned ? 
should they be narrowed ? 
have we made the right balance between security and liberty ? 
what can we do to ensure that our constitutional rights are not violated ? 
i wish , madam speaker , that this motion to instruct were broader than it is , that it kept all the sunsetting provisions from being made permanent . 
the fbi will still have all the powers it needs . 
it will simply have to hold itself accountable to congress and the american people every 4 years about how these powers are used . 
why is that so terrible ? 
i call on all my colleagues , democrats and republicans , liberals and conservatives , to begin to safeguard the national security , not adequately , but to begin to safeguard the civil liberties of all americans by voting for this very , very skimpy motion to instruct . 
