[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WE MUST PASS THE SENATE VERSION OF THE FISA BILL

  (Mr. McCAUL of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we will be engaging today in an 
important debate, perhaps the most important debate certainly since 
I've been in the United States Congress, and that is how to protect the 
American people, how can we capture intelligence overseas to better 
protect the United States.
  I bring to this debate a unique experience. I worked in the Justice 
Department under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on FISA's 
national security wiretaps. This statute was never designed to prohibit 
us from capturing overseas intelligence from foreign targets. If Osama 
bin Laden is calling in to the United States, we, as Americans, have a 
right to know what he is saying.
  This is, again, one of the most important debates, and the Senate 
passed yesterday a version of this which I urge the House to pass 
today, and also one that protects companies, patriotic companies, who 
help out the United States Government when the United States Government 
asks and gives the call to duty to help the United States in capturing 
this overseas intelligence.
  The time to act is now, and extension in terms of intelligence is 
unacceptable. We cannot allow our intelligence to go dark in many parts 
of the world. We must pass the Senate version of the FISA bill.

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