[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 31, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REAUTHORIZE THE PATRIOT ACT

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, FBI Director Mueller in his recent 
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee urged Congress to renew 
what he called exceptional intelligence-gathering tools. Earlier this 
month, I introduced legislation to do just that.
  The Safe and Secure America Act extends for 10 years the sunset on 
two expiring PATRIOT Act provisions: Roving wiretaps, and Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act business records.
  Director Mueller reports that obtaining business records ``has been 
exceptionally helpful in our national security investigations.''
  And the roving wiretap authority means that agents are no longer 
required to obtain a separate warrant for each phone, cell phone, or 
device a suspect uses.
  I hope Director Mueller and the administration will ensure that these 
critical national security tools are reauthorized and kept in place.

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