madam speaker , i thank my friend for yielding , and i urge my colleagues to vote for this important motion to instruct on the patriot act .  like so many , i voted for the patriot act the first time and the second time .  but i agree with the gentleman from california and the gentleman from virginia , and as i understand it , perhaps the chairman as well .  i simply do not understand the reticence to include sunset provisions on a law that affects the civil liberties of every american citizen .  in fact , when we reauthorized the patriot act in july , the republican bill permanently authorized 14 of the 16 provisions .  the other two provisions , one for roving wiretaps and the other dealing with the fbi 's power to demand business records , were extended for 10 years .  democrats fought to sunset these provisions last summer ; and we do so again today , apparently successfully , because , i think , people have , upon reflection , thought that this is a better policy .  because when it comes to the government 's power to intrude on the private lives of citizens , the united states congress should not give the government unchecked power to do so .  just last sunday the washington post documented , and it has been referenced here , the hundredfold increase in the issuance of national security letters seeking information about u.s. citizens and visitors who are not even alleged to be terrorist or spies .  there are terrorists .  terrorism is a serious threat , and we need to be serious in our response .  but privacy concerns must not be casually dismissed .  in fact , it was not until several sections of the patriot act were set to expire that the justice department began to respond to congressional inquiries and we had the opportunity to assess , examine , and recalibrate our policies .  i submit to my colleagues they have given the justice department carte blanche .  no matter how good the leadership is in the justice department , it is not a policy that we ought to pursue and would be an abdication of our congressional oversight responsibility and contrary to the interests of the american people .  madam speaker , this motion would recede to the senate and create a 4-year sunset on the most controversial provisions in the patriot act , orders by the secret foreign intelligence court , blank wiretap orders and the surveillance of agents of a foreign power who act alone .  this motion , in my opinion , is a step in the right direction , and i hope the members support it .  as i said , and i will echo the comments of so many here , terrorism is an immediate and proximate threat , as we lawyers say ; and we need to respond effectively to keep america safe .  but in the process , we must also protect the basic rights that our founding fathers knew were the bedrock of the united states democracy .  