mr. speaker , on 9/11 , evil terrorists , murderers , if you will , inspired and motivated by fanaticism and hatred attacked our country and nearly 3 , 000 innocent americans expired .  it would be a simple matter to overreact to such an attack ; but our response , for the most part , mr. speaker , has been thorough and deliberate .  the judiciary subcommittee on crime , terrorism and homeland security alone conducted nine hearings , coupled with two additional hearings before the full house judiciary committee .  other committees as well conducted hearings .  so this seems to me refutes the charge that this act has been hurriedly rammed through the congress .  i spoke earlier on this floor , mr. speaker , of a constituent who urged me to lead an effort to repeal the patriot act .  when i asked him to cite examples where civil liberties had been abused , he could offer none .  other opponents of the act have likewise been unable to document evidence of abuses .  some have said , well , these points are irrelevant .  they are not irrelevant at all , mr. speaker , when you are talking to people who oppose the act , but yet are unable to offer evidence to support their opposition .  i think it is relevant , indeed .  finally , mr. speaker , i am going to touch on a point that i think many americans have inadvertently ignored , and that is the fact that there are in excess of 360 ports in the united states and this bill provides basic and much-needed protection thereto .  it is clear that our ports and harbors are significant and appealing targets for terrorist attacks .  we can not afford to leave these areas unprotected or hamstring law enforcement efforts to provide basic security against terrorists .  mr. speaker , i am not trying to be a chicken little and shouting that the sky is falling , but just because we have not been attacked subsequently since 9/11 does not indicate to me that these terrorists , i call them murderers , they are murderers , are asleep at the switch .  they are continuing to plot , and we can not turn a blind eye to them .  is this act perfect ?  no .  not many acts that find their way through this congress are perfect .  but it is a piece of legislation that should be enacted , and i urge support .  