[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[August 5, 2007]
[Pages 1044-1045]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Congressional Passage of Intelligence Reform Legislation
August 5, 2007

    When our intelligence professionals have the legal tools to gather 
information about the intentions of our enemies, America is safer. And 
when these same legal tools also protect the civil liberties of 
Americans, then we can have the confidence to know that we can preserve 
our freedoms while making America safer.
    The Protect America Act, passed with bipartisan support in the House 
and Senate, achieves both of these goals by modernizing the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act. Over the past three decades, this law has 
not kept pace with revolutionary changes in technology. As a result, our 
intelligence professionals have told us that they are missing 
significant intelligence information that they need to protect the 
country.
    S. 1927 reforms FISA by accounting for changes in technology and 
restoring the statute to its original focus on appropriate protections 
for the rights of persons in the United States and not foreign targets 
located in foreign lands.
    Today, we face a dynamic threat from enemies who understand how to 
use modern technology against us. Whether foreign terrorists, hostile 
nations, or other actors, they change their tactics frequently and seek 
to exploit the very openness and freedoms we hold dear. Our tools to 
deter them must also be dynamic and flexible enough to meet the 
challenges they pose. This law gives our intelligence professionals this 
greater flexibility while closing a dangerous gap in our intelligence 
gathering activities that threatened to weaken our defenses.
    We know that information we have been able to acquire about foreign 
threats will help us detect and prevent attacks on our homeland. Mike 
McConnell, the Director of National 
Intelligence, has assured me that this bill gives him the most immediate 
tools he needs to defeat the intentions of our enemies. And so in 
signing this legislation today, I am heartened to know that his critical 
work will be strengthened, and we will be better armed to prevent 
attacks in the future.
    I commend Members of Congress who supported these important reforms 
and also for acting before adjourning for recess. In particular, I want 
to thank Mitch McConnell and 
John Boehner for their strong leadership on 
this issue and Senators Kit Bond 
and Dianne Feinstein for coming together in 
the Senate on an effective bipartisan solution. In the House of 
Representatives, Pete Hoekstra and Heather 
Wilson were instrumental in securing 
enactment of this vital piece of legislation before the August recess, 
and I thank them for their leadership.
    While I appreciate the leadership it took to pass this bill, we must 
remember that our work is not done. This bill is a temporary, narrowly 
focused statute to deal with the most immediate shortcomings in the law.
    When Congress returns in September, the intelligence committees and 
leaders in both parties will need to complete work

[[Page 1045]]

on the comprehensive reforms requested by Director McConnell, including the important issue of providing 
meaningful liability protection to those who are alleged to have 
assisted our Nation following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Note: The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
version of this statement.