[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2173-2174]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE NEED FOR A PERMANENT FISA BILL

  (Mr. KLINE of Minnesota asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, al Qaeda and their terrorist 
allies are America's number one enemy. We all know that. They are 
constantly updating the way they communicate and dodge our intelligence 
networks. We should be doing nothing short of providing our 
intelligence officials with every tool necessary to always stay a step 
ahead of these radical extremists.
  Admiral Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, when 
asked about the Protect America Act, said this, ``We must be able to 
continue effectively obtaining the information gained through this law 
if we are to stay ahead of terrorists who are determined to attack the 
United States.''
  House Republicans have led the way in delivering 21st century 
intelligence collection to protect our citizens. The law now gives 
enforcement the tools and flexibility needed to quickly respond to 
terrorist threats because

[[Page 2174]]

House Republicans acted to close a dangerous loophole in an outdated 
intelligence law. But the law is threatened today by the House Democrat 
majority who are more interested in getting it for partisan reasons 
than to provide this country and our allies abroad the protection 
necessary as we continue to fight terrorism.
  A short-term extension is not enough. We need a permanent fix now.

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