madam speaker , i was absent from this chamber for 16 years after serving for 10 . 
the compelling reason for me to return was the events of 9/11 . 
and one of the things that i thought i would never see in the house of representatives is an alice in wonderland type atmosphere where just because you say something , you think it is true . 
the fact of the matter is , many of the complaints registered by my friends on the other side of the aisle are taken care of in this conference report . 
if you vote down the conference report , those sections that are not subject to sunset will continue on without any of the changes that the chairman has articulated . 
so the very arguments they are making against what they do not like about the law now should compel them to vote for this conference report because we make changes . 
madam speaker , it is the primary responsibility of government to protect the safety of its citizens . 
the patriot act tears down that wall , that artificial wall that existed between the intelligence community and the criminal justice enterprises . 
and what we did was we said it made no sense , it made us more vulnerable to attack . 
some have said , look , these changes in the patriot act change what was current law . 
that is true because there was a need to do so . 
and some have argued all we need to do is to follow what has been the law in the past . 
the distinction that must be drawn is that , in the war on terrorism , it is not good enough to collect the evidence after a terrorist attack to try and bring people to justice . 
the imperative is to stop the terrorist attacks from occurring in the first place . 
that is why we have the differences in this law . 
yes , there is a different standard . 
the standard is to allow us to stop the terrorist attacks in the first instance . 
we have , as a result of oversight , and i have attended every single hearing in the subcommittee and full committee , done unbelievable oversight , reviewing every bit of evidence that has been out there . 
there has not been one single example of abuse proven , not one . 
the ig report could not find it . 
we could not find it . 
i have been to every single hearing that we have had , been with every witness . 
they could not prove a one . 
but because we are concerned about the possibility of abuse , we have put at least 30 additional limitations into this conference report . 
and so really the question is , do you believe in the essential foundation of the patriot act which makes it is the primary responsibility of government to protect the safety of its citizens . 
the patriot act is a critical element in a strategy to provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to conduct antiterrorism investigations . 
this task is made all the more difficult in that unlike the traditional criminal case , our success will be measured by the ability to prevent a future terrorist attack . 
the 9/11 commission report observed that `` the choice between security and liberty is a false choice , as nothing is more likely to endanger america 's liberties than the success of a terrorist attack at home. '' freedom presumes security . 
the converse is equally true . 
in the delicate balance of these important interests . 
our concern for liberty must not discount the consequences of a failure to keep americans secure from a cataclysmic event . 
while it is important to avoid hyperbole on such a serious matter , the very nature of american life -- and the traditional regard for liberty -- could itself be threatened . 
at the same time , it is the solemn responsibility of committees with oversight responsibilitites to be ever diligent to assure that government does not overstep the proper limits of its authority in implementing the patriot act . 
in this regard , in our oversight of the patriot act , the judiciary committee conducted 13 hearings and there was no finding of abuse . 
this was evidenced by the fact that opponents of the act resorted to attacks on the circumstances at guantanamo , and the creppy memo -- issues related to the wider war on terrorism but unrelated to the patriot act itself . 
the conference report contains a number of provisions which maintain the integrity of those key provisions necessary to combat terrorism , while at the same time strengthening the protection of civil liberties : as the author of the 10-year sunset provisions in the house bill relating to section 206 , roving wiretaps , and section 215 , access to business records the final language in the conference report responds to the critics of the legislation . 
the conference report contains the senate language of 4-year sunsets of these same provisions and extends the sunset language to the `` lone wolf ' provisions of the bill as well . 
the conference report language relating to business record access includes additional protections not contained in current law . 
the conference report explicitly provides for judicial review of any section 215 order . 
if the documents sought pertain to sensitive categories of records -- such as library , bookstore , tax returns , firearms sales , educational and medical records -- the fbi director , deputy director , or the official in charge of intelligence must personally sign off on the application before it can be submitted to the court . 
the conference report requires that the application to the fisa court must include `` a clear statement of the facts '' that demonstrate reasonable grounds to believe the tangible things sought are relevant to the investigation . 
the conference report requires the use of so-called minimization procedures to regulate the retention and dissemination of information concerning united states persons and the protection of privileged documents . 
the conference report makes it explicit that a recipient of an order has the right to disclose receipt to an attorney or other parties necessary to comply with the order . 
section 108 of the conference report imposes several additional safeguards on the use of roving surveillance : the conference report requires that the order describe the specific target in detail when authorizing a roving wiretap for a target whose identity is not known . 
the conference report specifies that the fisa court must find that the possibility of the target thwarting surveillance is based on specific facts in the application . 
the conference report requires investigators to inform the court when `` roving '' surveillance is used to target a new facility -- such as when a terrorist or spy changes to a different cell phone . 
as the former chief law enforcement officer of my state of california , i want to first of all emphasize that delayed notice search warrants are not an invention of the patriot act . 
the delayed notice search warrant has been available to california law enforcement for years . 
the conference report adds new safeguards relating to the use of delayed notice search warrants . 
the conference report places a limit of 30 days on an initial request or on a later date certain if the facts justify such a delay . 
extensions of up to 90 days are possible unless the facts of a particular case justify a longer period . 
the language in the conference report provides for explicit judicial review of an nsl . 
the conference report provides that a recipient of an nsl may challenge any non-disclosure requirement in court . 
the report clarifies that a recipient may disclose receipt of an nsl to an attorney or other necessary party . 
there is a total absence of any evidence of abuse of the patrlot act . 
furthermore , the conference report adds further protections against any potential abuse of the law . 
the conference report represents a careful balance between our responsibility to protect americans from terrorist violence , and our responsibility to avoid any potential violations of their civil liberties . 
the enactment of this legislation is critical to this endeavor . 
there are those who will attempt to come here for the sole purpose of murdering innocent americans . 
it is our responsibility to keep this from happening . 
we must provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to carry out this task . 
