program or through our social media feeds. c-span created by america's cable television companies as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider. provider. >> the senate's back at 10:30 a.m. eastern today to finish debate on a bill to reauthorityize and reform products unthe inintelligence act that expired in march. on c-span2. now a look at the floor debate yesterday. >> great nations and confront profound challenges at home. their enemies and competitors do not politely pause their own efforts until the situation becomes more stable. rather, from beijing to moscow, to caves in the middle east, our adversaries would be tickled pink if the coronavirus

causes the united states to lose our ability to multi-task. some of our democratic colleagues have implied recently that it's beneath the senate, beneath the senate to spend time on any business that does not exclusively pertain to the pandemic. i could not disagree more strongly. common sense tells us this crisis demands more vigilance on other fronts of national security, not less. when we take our oaths of office as u.s. senators, we swear to defend the constitution against all enemy, foreign and domestic. this coronavirus may have shoved its way to the top of that list, but the list is still a long one indeed. unfortunately, for several weeks now, our nation has been less prepared than normal to defend ourselves against those who wish us harm. and it's not because of the coronavirus, it's because house democrats have failed to act. back in march, the senate passed a clean short-term

extension of key authorities under the foreign intelligence surveillance act, while a broader renegotiation was underway. after the shameful abuses of the fisa process that marred the 2016 presidential campaign, there was a clear need for meaningful reforms to bring more daylight and accountability into the process. but at the same time, many of us on both sides of the aisle were absolutely intent on preserving these national security tools that helped keep america safe. while discussions were underway on how to strike the right balance, senate passed a by bipartisan short-term extension while congress got our act together. unfortunately, speaker pelosi let that extension sit on her desk and gather dust. so for more than eight weeks, eight weeks these important tools have gone dark. fortunately, the members have

crafted a solution that will present needed reforms while providing the national security tools. these intent discussions, provide the need for accountability with a solemn need to protect our citizens and defend our homeland. i understand that several of our colleagues believe this compromise bill is not perfect and sadly perfection is a fact of life when it comes to legislation. and while voting later today, i would urge to vote against it, the current bill in the current form strikes a correct and delicate balance and there's-- that the new version would pass. this has done both. we can't get perfect be the enemy of the good when key ones are sitting expired and

ununusual. when they're overseeing the coronavirus crisis we're making sure the pandemic does not inflict greater harm by distracting us from other threats and challenges that preceded it. off the floor, our committees are working through a number of pressing national security nominations from the director of national intelligence to the secretary of the navy to others at the pentagon. ... here on the floor. i hope our democratic colleagues think carefully before applying reflexive partisan delays, even to the vital security positions during a global emergency. we cannot put homeland security we cannot put homeland security home i secured on autopilot because another crisis has our attention. the senate can, will, and must continue to pay attention to both. >> mr. president, americans want

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