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It's especially important since September 11 for people to be trained for the unexpected. We want to try to make sure people are safe.

In the aftermath of September 11th, it is critical to secure our borders.

We must protect the very things that make America so special - most certainly including our civil liberties. But we cannot do so without strong national security and a thoughtful and informed discourse.

Since September 11, 2001, many in this nation and this Congress have a deeper appreciation for the importance of the sacrifices made by our law enforcement officers.

The attack on Americans in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 is a stark reminder that our nation must remain vigilant in protecting our citizens from the threat of Al-Qaeda and similar extremist terrorist entities around the world.

Once the attacks occur, as we learned on Sept. 11, it is too late. It makes little sense to deprive ourselves of an important, and legal, means to detect and prevent terrorist attacks while we are still in the middle of a fight to the death with al Qaeda.

Since September 11, the U.S. has significantly improved its security to prevent another attack.

Since its enactment in the weeks following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the tools in the Patriot Act have been used by law enforcement to stop more than 400 terrorist threats to our families and communities.

Since 9/11, the Bush administration has used that tragic event as a justification to rip up our constitution and our civil liberties. And I honestly believe that one or two 9/11s, and martial law will be declared in our country and we're inching towards a police state.

But since September 11, we have made every effort to try to work closely with state and local law enforcement.