Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, it's been over 40 days since the Protect America Act expired and our Nation's ability to defend itself was jeopardized. Before Congress left for a 2-week recess, the majority leadership brought a bogus bill to the floor that narrowly passed the House of Representatives, that probably will never see the light of day in the Senate, and most assuredly would be vetoed by the President. They knew this. And yet they chose a flawed piece of legislation over a bipartisan fix to the FISA loophole.
There is a bill that has been supported by a bipartisan majority of Senators, including the chairman of the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence, the Department of Justice, the White House, our Intelligence Community, and publicly by Democrats in the House. Rather than take the necessary steps to protect American families by holding a vote on this legislation, the majority leadership has chosen to try and discredit the entire issue and claim that all is well. The American people know better and deserve better.
In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th