madam speaker , i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 3199 , the usa patriot and terrorism prevention reauthorization act conference report . 
i would be violating my oath to uphold the constitution if i voted to unravel the very freedoms for which we 're supposedly fighting . 
the patriot act criminalizes speech , protest and assembly while it removes the right to due process and a search warrant . 
for example , the formerly bedrock principle that government can not spy on you unless it provides strong evidence of wrongdoing to a judge no longer exists in america . 
as a `` compromise '' in this bill , americans can now talk to a lawyer when the fbi sends them a national security letter . 
these letters demand their medical , business or internet records , and it is nearly impossible to get the request blocked . 
madam speaker , there is no room for compromise in the bill of rights . 
if the fbi wants to know what web sites i visit , they should justify it to a judge beforehand just like anyone else . 
with 30 , 000 of these national security letters going out every year , up from 300 before the patriot act was enacted , this is much more than just an academic argument . 
while no amount of success in the war on terror could justify the patriot act , it is especially tragic that we have little to show for 5 years of police-state tactics . 
the american people might be surprised to know that the median sentence for people convicted in terrorist investigations over the last 5 years was just 11 months . 
most were convicted on technicalities having nothing to do with the patriot act . 
in other words , the war on terrorism is just an irrelevant excuse for the expanded power of government to find out what books you buy , send undercover agents to your community group meetings , or search your home without a warrant . 
the patriot act is a war on liberty to create a false sense of security . 
i urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting this underhanded ploy . 
