[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3653]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
    PRESS AND PUBLIC ARE NOT BUYING INTO SCARE TACTICS OF BUSH AND 
                              REPUBLICANS

  (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that no one is buying into the 
scare tactics created by the President and some Republicans regarding 
the expiration of the President's Protect America Act. Newspapers 
around the country are rightfully asking Republicans that if this law 
were so crucial to national security, why did they oppose an extension 
of it last month?
  The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch called this intimidation and ``fear 
mongering at its most craven.'' The Oregonian wasn't fooled by the 
President's political actions, writing: ``If the Protect America Act is 
as crucial as he says it is, then he is taking a terrible gamble with 
the safety of his country's citizens.'' The Palm Beach Post recognized 
that ``political distraction'' is more important to this administration 
than the law. They wrote, ``The law that Mr. Bush and some Republicans 
say is vital could have been extended for 3 weeks. Instead, they let it 
die.''
  Mr. Speaker, House Democrats are serious about passing a strong FISA 
law that provides our intelligence community with the tools necessary 
to protect our national security, and we urge congressional Republicans 
and the White House to join us at the table.

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