August 16, 2007
Ms. xxx
Dear Ms. xxx:
Your comments regarding the so-called Protect America Act of 2007, which expands the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), has been brought to my attention. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
I share your strong concerns. Effective national security requires the trust and support of the American people for the actions of those entrusted with its prosecution. That trust is ensured by the exercise of checks and balances within branches of government to ensure adherence to laws and enforcement of the will of the American people. In my view, granting additional intelligence acquisition authorities to Administration officials and, at the same time, removing oversight of such activities from the purview of judicial courts places in peril the hard-fought and hard-won rights guaranteed to American citizens under the Constitution.
For those reasons, among others, I voted against the so-called Protect America Act of 2007 when it came to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote on August 4, 2007. Regrettably, the measure passed by a vote of 227-183 and has since been signed into law.
Additionally, I thought you may be interested in viewing a video clip of the statement I gave on the House floor during the debate on the so-called Protect America Act of 2007. You may view this video on my website at: http://www.house.gov…
Thank you for taking the time to weigh in. Please feel free to do so regarding any matter of concern to you.
Sincerely,
John F. Tierney
Member of Congress
John Tierney: Right On as Usual
Please share widely!
stomv says
of attaboys. So, Congressman Tierney: attaboy!
ed-oreilly says
I have known John for many years and have enthusiastically supported him since his first run for Congress and consistently since that time.
I have watched John transition from an attorney into a strong progressive leader in Congress.
The true test of John’s character was when he stood up and voted against the Iraq War resolution when the drums of war were beating loudly. John unwaveringly held his ground despite significant criticism at that time.
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Ed O’Reilly
EdOReilly.com
Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts
jconway says
I live in the 8th district in Cambridge but my father is from Salem and knew John a little bit during high school. John while being a great progressive leader in Congress is also just a really nice and approachable guy who doesn’t spend so much time in Washington that he forgets his constitutents (cough Meehan). I remember meeting him for the first time at my grandmothers wake and I was sincerely glad he could make it. Although my grandmother was an ardent FDR Dem who would be up front about her views if you asked her and voted every election, she was still not particularly politically active in the community at the grassroots level but even though he did not know her personally or had any political connections he showed up, shook all the hands in the receiving line, and paid his respects. I always respect old school pols that still do that, its a real class act and we won’t forget it.
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And to be fair my own Congressman Mike Capuano is also very active in his community and has done a lot of innovative things to reach out (online chats, conference calls, town hall meetings, etc.) and has also been consistently right on the issues. That said I still appreciate Rep. Tierney as well.
cadmium says
good ones. Got to meet him at a Victory 06 event.
kate says
I’ve actually never written that expression down. So I looked it up just to be sure I was spelling it correctly. According to one source:
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The correct term is, “hear, hear!” It is an abbreviation for “hear, all ye good people, hear what this brilliant and eloquent speaker has to say!”
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More on topic, Congressman Tierney is a class act. I consider myself priveleged to be a constituent of Congressman Jim McGovern, and I put Congressman Tierney in a class with Jim.
catnip747 says
To this review of terrific Congressman John Tierney, let us add that he endorsed Deval Patrick in the crucial weeks before the ’06 Mass Dems convention … and then got right to work, helping the Deval campaign at the grassroots level. I’m so proud that he’s my Congressman, and not just because he’s darned good looking, too. (Sorry, Patrice, just had to mention that about your husband!)