[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 12, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today the Senate will finish the 
bipartisan Rockefeller-Bond bill. This bill is the product of months of 
painstaking negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats and 
benefitted from the participation of intelligence experts in the 
executive branch.
  The overwhelming bipartisan vote in the Intelligence Committee 
reflected the care, concern, and good faith that went into crafting the 
bill. The final vote was not 15 to 0, but it was 13 to 2, which around 
here is pretty close.
  The Rockefeller-Bond bill contained the two main ingredients that are 
needed to sign this bill into law. It will allow intelligence 
professionals to do their jobs, and it will not allow trial lawyers to 
sue the telecommunications companies that may have participated and, 
according to the intelligence, acted in good faith to help protect our 
country.
  A bill that does not satisfy these two requirements will not become 
law, nor should it. And, in fact, Mr. President, I know the Senator 
from Missouri, our ranking member, is going to make the point that all 
of these amendments need to be defeated if, in fact, we are going to 
get a signature on this bill. It will be the only way in the end to 
protect our country.
  Last week was a great example of what we can accomplish when we work 
with each other instead of against each other. We were able to pass an 
economic growth package on an overwhelming bipartisan basis which the 
President will sign tomorrow.
  We have another chance this week to put up a bipartisan win by 
passing the Rockefeller-Bond bill, a bill that is critical to 
protecting the homeland from attack and protecting our forces fighting 
overseas.
  I am confident that with the help of friends on the other side of the 
aisle, we can work through the pending amendments, send it over to the 
House, and then send it on to the President for his signature this 
week.

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