    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 9, 2006]
    [Pages 428-430]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act
    of 2005
    March 9, 2006

        Welcome. Thanks for the applause. Glad you're here in the people's
    house.
        I'm going to sign--in a few moments I'll be signing the USA PATRIOT
    Improvement and Reauthorization Act. This is a really important piece of
    legislation. It is a piece of legislation that's vital to win the war on
    terror and to protect the American people.
        The law allows our intelligence and law enforcement officials to
    continue to share information. It allows them to continue to use tools
    against terrorists that they used against--that they use against drug
    dealers and other criminals. It will improve our Nation's security,
    while we safeguard the civil liberties of our people. The legislation
    strengthens the Justice Department so it can better detect and disrupt
    terrorist threats. And the bill gives law enforcement new tools to
    combat threats to our citizens from international terrorists to local
    drug dealers.
        It is an important piece of legislation, and I thank those here who
    helped get it passed. I particularly want to thank the Attorney General,
    Al Gonzales. It's good to see former
    Attorney Generals here as well. I appreciate Secretary Mike
    Chertoff, Secretary John Snow, Ambassador Negroponte, Bob
    Mueller. Thank you all for coming.
    John Walters, appreciate you being here.
        I particularly want to thank the Members of the Congress who are up
    here, starting with the Speaker of the House, Denny Hastert. Mr. Speaker, thanks for your leadership on this
    important piece of legislation. I do want to pay special tribute to
    Senator

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    Arlen Specter and Congressman Jim
    Sensenbrenner. These are the
    chairmen of the Judiciary Committees that got this legislation to this
    desk. Thank you all for your hard work. I appreciate you being here.
        I want to thank Pat Roberts, who's
    with us; John Boehner, who's majority leader; Roy Blunt, the majority whip. I want to thank all the other Members
    of the Congress who have joined us, particularly Peter King, who is the chairman of the House Homeland Security
    Committee.
        I want to thank all the State and local officials who are here.
    Chief Ramsey, it's good to see you.
    Appreciate you coming. Always be good to the local police chief.
    [Laughter]
        America remains a nation at war. The war reached our shores on
    September the 11th, 2001. On that morning, we saw clearly the violence
    and hatred of a new enemy. We saw the terrorists' destructive vision for
    us when they killed nearly 3,000 men, women, and children.
        In the face of this ruthless threat, our Nation has made a clear
    choice: We will confront this mortal danger; we will stay on the
    offensive; and we're not going to wait to be attacked again. Since
    September the 11th, 2001, we have taken the fight to the enemy. We've
    hunted terrorists in the mountains of Afghanistan, cities of Iraq, in
    the islands of Southeast Asia, and everywhere else they plot, plan, and
    train. Our men and women in uniform have brought down two regimes that
    supported terrorism. We liberated 50 million people. We've gained new
    allies in the war on terror.
        As we wage the war on terror overseas, we're also going after the
    terrorists here at home, and one of the most important tools we have
    used to protect the American people is the PATRIOT Act. The PATRIOT Act
    closed dangerous gaps in America's law enforcement and intelligence
    capabilities, gaps the terrorists exploited when they attacked us on
    September the 11th.
        The PATRIOT Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. It
    strengthened our national security in two important ways. First, it
    authorized law enforcement and intelligence officers to share vital
    information. Before the PATRIOT Act, criminal investigators were often
    separated from intelligence officers by a legal and bureaucratic wall.
    The PATRIOT Act tore down the wall. And as a result, law enforcement and
    intelligence officers are sharing information, working together, and
    bringing terrorists to justice.
        Secondly, the PATRIOT Act has allowed agents to pursue terrorists
    with the same tools they use against other criminals. Before the PATRIOT
    Act, it was easier to track the phone contacts of a drug dealer than the
    phone contacts of an enemy operative. Before the PATRIOT Act, it was
    easier to get the credit card receipts of a tax cheater than trace the
    financial support of an Al Qaida fundraiser. The PATRIOT Act corrected
    these double standards, and the United States is safer as a result.
        Over the past 4 years, America's law enforcement and intelligence
    personnel have proved that the PATRIOT Act works. Federal, State, and
    local law enforcement have used the PATRIOT Act to break up terror cells
    in Ohio, New York, Oregon, and Virginia. We've prosecuted terrorist
    operatives and supporters in California and Texas, New Jersey, Illinois,
    Washington, and North Carolina.
        The PATRIOT Act has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do.
    It has helped us detect terror cells, disrupt terrorist plots, and save
    American lives. The bill I sign today extends these vital provisions. It
    also gives our Nation new protections and added defenses.
        This legislation creates a new position of Assistant Attorney
    General for National Security. This will allow the Justice Department to
    bring together its national security, counterterrorism,
    counterintelligence, and foreign intelligence surveillance operations
    under a single authority. This reorganization fulfills one of the
    critical recommendations of the WMD Commission. It will help

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    our brave men and women in law enforcement connect the dots before the
    terrorists strike.
        This bill also will help protect Americans from the growing threat
    of methamphetamine. Meth is easy to make. It is highly addictive. It is
    ruining too many lives across our country. The bill introduces
    commonsense safeguards that would make many of the ingredients used in
    manufacturing meth harder to obtain in bulk and easier for law
    enforcement to track.
        For example, the bill places limits on large-scale purchases of
    over-the-counter drugs that are used to manufacture meth. It requires
    stores to keep these ingredients behind the counter or in locked display
    cases. The bill also increases penalties for smuggling and selling of
    meth. Our Nation is committed to protecting our citizens and our young
    people from the scourge of methamphetamine.
        The PATRIOT Act has served America well, yet we cannot let the fact
    that America has not been attacked since September the 11th lull us into
    the illusion that the terrorist threat has disappeared. We still face
    dangerous enemies. The terrorists haven't lost the will or the ability
    to kill innocent folks. Our military, law enforcement, homeland
    security, and intelligence professionals are working day and night to
    protect us from this threat. We're safer for their efforts, and we'll
    continue to give them the tools to get the job done.
        And now it's my honor to sign the USA PATRIOT Improvement and
    Reauthorization Act of 2005.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:46 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Charles H. Ramsey, chief,
    Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC. H.R. 3199, approved
    March 9, was assigned Public Law No. 109-177. The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.