mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , i have this amendment that i place before this body . 
it is an amendment that talks about gag orders . 
it talks about a provision of law both in sections 215 and 550 that does not allow one who is the target of an investigation or one who has assisted the fbi in gaining records , access to records , to talk about the investigation , to let people know they have been contacted , or that they in some way have been involved in assisting the authorities in seeking information . 
this amendment of mine is a very , very simple amendment that talks about what happens to someone who is under a gag order who may , through no fault of their own , place themselves in danger of being harmed or being killed because someone finds out that they have been involved , they are involved in the investigation in some way , and they are threatened by the person who discovers that they have been involved in the investigation ; or what happens to someone who is employed at a particular business where they give the fbi access to information . 
the employer wants to know did they give out information , they can not tell them , they get fired from their job . 
so i have raised the question about this gag order of what happens when someone is placed in a position through no fault of their own that they have to give up information . 
and someone may argue that in one section of the law , 215 , they have the right to get a lawyer and this could be included in the information that they share with the lawyer that would attempt to get them out from under the gag order . 
but we know that there is nothing in 215 or 550 specifically that would protect this person under the gag order . 
mr. chairman , what i am attempting to do , and in the scheme of things perhaps it is not that important because we have a patriot act , patriot act ii , that will basically extend two sections of the patriot act for 10 years , sections 206 and 215 , access to businesses and other records and roving wiretaps ; and we have these 14 other sections of the patriot act that are made permanent . 
i suppose my colleagues and the people of america should be worried about all of this , all of what is being done in this patriot act in the name of fighting terrorism . 
people should be wondering whether or not they are being asked to give up their civil liberties , if they are being led by the people that they elect to protect them to undermine their own civil liberties . 
this is not simply about the gag order under 215 or 550 . 
this is about gagging americans , period . 
this is about saying shut up , do not tell me what the constitution guarantees you , we do not want to hear that . 
we want you to understand that there are enough people in power who believe that in order to exercise the power as they see it , they have a right to undermine the constitution of the united states of america . 
not only do they believe it , but they are selling it to you based on fear and intimidation . 
so my amendment in the scheme of things is not that important to try and protect a person or some persons . 
my amendment really is about giving me a platform to talk about how america and american citizens are being gagged , how we are being told that no matter that folks have really fought for this constitution , no matter that we really had some true times when we have had to stand up for the constitution , and even go to war to protect the constitution . 
we are now being led to believe that anything that is done , and that is what this patriot act is all about , it goes beyond what anybody should have to expect in order to fight terrorism . 
this patriot act is not in the best interest of americans . 
there are those on the other side of the aisle who have gotten up today and said i talked to a constituent who complained about the patriot act and i said to that constituent how have you been harmed , and the constituent could not explain it . 
it is not about whether or not i feel my rights have been denied or not . 
it is about whether or not the children of this nation , the children of the future , it is about whether all americans are being denied their civil liberties because they have been led into the support of a patriot act that really just flies in the face of the constitution of the united states of america . 
and so when i talk about the gag orders and i reference them in order to frame an amendment or to have this platform to talk about this patriot act , it is really about whether or not i am talking about all americans being gagged in a very , very clever and sophisticated way . 
there are those who will not oppose this patriot act because they do not want to be considered unpatriotic . 
i stand here in the congress of the united states questioning the wisdom of my colleagues on the patriot act , and i dare anyone to say i am unpatriotic because i do it . 
i do it because i am patriotic , and i live in an america that has taught me that there is a constitution that demands we as american citizens question our government , that we do not allow our government to do anything that they want to do . 
i have been elected by the people , and i could be a part of this charade of the government doing whatever we want to do in the name of so-called terrorism , but i do not see myself as an elected official nor do i see myself simply as a citizen that believes that the government is right in everything that it does . 
because i do not believe that , i dare to question those on the other side of the aisle and those on this side of the aisle . 
i dare those who would wish to stand up and challenge me and charge me with not being patriotic because i do so to get up here and debate me now on patriotism . 
and i will tell members what patriotism is all about . 
patriotism is about a constitution and a democracy that says america is different from everybody else and that we have come through a time and a history that has taught us that if you are to have a democracy , you must have certain guarantees , and those guarantees are embodied in the constitution that guarantees us freedom of speech , freedom of movement , freedom of religion , and freedom of privacy . 
those are the things that we should hold dear and we should fight to protect and we should hold onto with everything that we have , with every ounce of energy that we have . 
nobody , no elected official , no so-called leader is so smart they should tell the american people do not worry about it , give up your rights and give up your freedom , i know better than you . 
i hope that somewhere in america , in some fourth and fifth grade out there , there are teachers who are watching the debate on the patriot act . 
i hope that these are the teachers who are teaching the constitution of the united states and the history of this constitution , about how it evolved and how it developed ; and i hope they will teach them about the amendments to the constitution that strengthen it to make sure that we embody in this constitution all that may not have been thought about in the original framing of it by way of amendment . 
i hope that the teachers are able to say watch the debate on the floor of the congress of the united states so that you can understand that there are some intrusions that are taking place today with the patriot act that fly in the face of the constitution . 
i want you to be aware of it because when you leave this class , when you grow up to be whatever it is you are going to be , i expect that no matter where you are , whether you are in the united states , abroad , no matter where you are , you know how to stand up and fight for the constitution of the united states that guarantees certain rights and privacies that are now being intruded upon with this kind of act . 
mr. chairman , i yield back the balance of my time . 
