mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time .  i listened to my colleagues on the committee , the gentlewoman from california ( ms. harman )  , the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. delahunt )  , and also the gentleman from california ( mr. rohrabacher )  , and they have legitimate concerns .  i do not think there is anybody in this body on either side of this issue that does not have concerns .  i would like to see , in particular , a sunset provision , although i do not know what the timing should be .  god willing , there should be a day we will not need a patriot act , and it is easier to vote it back than it is to get rid of it .  mr. chairman , 26 nations have been attacked by al qaeda , and we just saw today england , but look at france and japan .  it also tells us the united states is behind in its security for our mass rail and bus transportation systems , not just aviation but those as well .  let me cite an example of what happened before 9/11 and how the patriot act , in my opinion , would have stopped an event , not just may have .  agencies knew of an outspoken extremist group .  they were outspoken in support of osama bin laden before 9/11 , and they were outspoken about their ethnic intolerance and raising money for al qaeda .  agencies like cia , fbi and law enforcement had thousands of leads and limited manpower .  their primary issue at the time was getting out two agents in a foreign country that were under extreme conditions .  they were concerned also about if they questioned this group that they would be taken to court on profiling .  the rhetoric was there , but no action .  the fbi and the cia were limited in their ability to check out this group .  mr. chairman , this particular group was the group that was training in arizona , the pilots and the crews that flew into new york city , that flew into the pentagon , and that crashed in pennsylvania .  mohammed atta is another example .  his roommate , the limitations that our agencies had on questioning him , he knew about the 9/11 bombings , is another reason why i think that we need this act .  i am conflicted , just like my colleague , the gentlewoman from california ( ms. harman )  and others , because there are things that all of us are concerned about .  but khalid sheik mohammed is the guy who planned 9/11 .  we caught this rascal .  his replacement was a guy named abu al-libbi , and we caught that rascal .  and some of the documents showed that it is only a matter of time , mr. chairman , until this country is hit , so we must be diligent .  this act helps us do that , and weighing the concerns and is the reason i think all of us need to support the patriot act .  