Providing for Consideration of H.R. Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act; Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Denouncing the Biden Administration's Immigration Policies; and Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Opposing Efforts to Place One-Sided Pressure on Israel with Respect to Gaza

Floor Speech

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Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I stand today in support of the warrant amendment. I will speak on the warrant amendment here for a couple minutes that were about to vote on today.

I hold in my hands here a document that states all the reasons why the warrant amendment should not be adopted by this Congress, and I will cite one item, specifically. Number 5 cites the current FBI director. He goes on to say that Russia has launched the most violent ground war in Europe since the 1940s as a justification for not passing this amendment.

Will Americans giving up their civil rights prevent that?

China has rapidly proliferated its nuclear weapons capabilities. Will Americans giving up their civil rights prevent that proliferation? Will it prevent China in--clearly, they are a threat to the free world with their seeking global hegemony, but do Americans have to give up their civil rights?

It goes on to talk about Afghanistan falling to the Taliban, ISIS revived, Houthi terrorists putting our troops under attack, Israeli men, women, and children slaughtered by Hamas. Will Americans giving up their civil rights prevent those things from happening?

It won't.

These words ring very hollow by the current FBI director when he is targeting Americans, when we have seen the leadership of our FBI target Americans. We have a powerful word in the English language, and I think it is one of the most beautiful words out there. It is liberty.

And encapsulated in that liberty is freedom, and the Founders used liberty as often as they used the term ``freedom.'' Liberty encapsulates freedom, but it also says you have to be accountable for that freedom. There are those in our government who have chosen not to be accountable. This great system we have allows us to provide that accountability, and that is what we are here to do today is to provide that accountability for those intelligence agencies.

The choice is simple before us today. We can protect the powerful with their Praetorian guard here in Washington, D.C., or do we protect the American people with the most powerful document created in the history of humankind, the Constitution?

Today, Mr. Speaker, I will be choosing the people and the Constitution.

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