The American flag is an enduring symbol of liberty, democracy, and justice... Our flag honors those who have fought to protect it, and is a reminder of the sacrifice of our nation's founders and heroes. As the ultimate icon of America's storied history, the Stars and Stripes represent the very best of this nation.
We have this final, slim chance to break the deadlock on a comprehensive bill that will generate energy at prices people can afford to pay. I hope enough senators will come back to Washington with a new viewpoint, and that the Senate can drum up the two more votes needed to pass this legislation.
This year seems to have set a record for security breaches. As we have learned during three hearings, details of our personal lives are easily available from many sources, including companies like ChoicePoint and LexisNexis, that buy, store and sell our personal data without notifying us. Not only are there no market forces at work to motivate these types of companies to protect the data they accumulate, we now know that no federal law requires companies even to protect it. And if they lose it, what the heck, they don't even have to tell anyone.
Opening statement at data security hearing, November 3, 2005
