[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[December 14, 2005]
[Page 1857]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on House of Representatives Passage of PATRIOT Act 
Reauthorization Legislation
December 14, 2005

    The PATRIOT Act is essential to fighting the war on terror and 
preventing our enemies from striking America again. I commend the House 
for voting today on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act.
    The legislation reauthorizes the 16 sunsetting provisions and makes 
all but two permanent. It bolsters the law's significant protection of 
privacy and civil liberties. The legislation includes important 
provisions regarding seaport security, mass transportation security, and 
terrorist financing. It creates a new National Security Division at the 
Department of Justice, which was an important recommendation of the WMD 
Commission that I support. It includes important provisions to 
strengthen Federal efforts to combat the dangerous proliferation of 
methamphetamine, which has affected communities across the Nation.
    The PATRIOT Act is scheduled to expire at the end of the month, but 
the terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. In the war on 
terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment. I 
urge the Senate to pass this legislation promptly and reauthorize the 
PATRIOT Act.

Note: The statement referred to H.R. 3199.