[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11457]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PROTECT AMERICA TODAY

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, it has been 109 days since 
the Protect America Act expired and our intelligence community's 
ability to track our enemies was degraded. Foreign surveillance is an 
important part of our Nation's defense in the global war on terrorism. 
We need to make sure it's up-to-date and equipped with tools our 
military and intelligence community say are vital to doing the job.
  When the Protect America Act expired, a bipartisan group of Senators 
passed a bill that enjoys vocal support from House Republicans and 
Democrats, 25 State attorneys general, including South Carolina's own 
Henry McMaster, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
  Unfortunately, none of that seems to matter to the majority 
leadership, who has tried to downplay the importance of this bill and 
has failed to bring it to the House floor for consideration. We must 
not tie the hands of our intelligence services while they are doing all 
they can to protect American families.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th.

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