[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[July 10, 2008]
[Pages 1007-1009]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the FISA Amendments Act of 2008
July 10, 2008

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you. Welcome to the Rose 
Garden. Today I'm pleased to sign landmark legislation that is vital to 
the security of our people. The bill will allow our intelligence 
professionals to quickly and effectively monitor

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the communications of terrorists abroad, while respecting the liberties 
of Americans here at home. The bill I sign today will help us meet our 
most solemn responsibility: to stop new attacks and to protect our 
people.
    Members of my administration have made a vigorous case for this 
important law. I want to thank them, and I also want to thank the 
Members of the House and the Senate who've worked incredibly hard to get 
this legislation done. Mr. Vice President, 
welcome.
    Respect the Members of the Senate and the House who've joined us: 
Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl; John 
Boehner, House Republican leader; Roy 
Blunt, House Republican whip. I do want to pay 
special tribute to Congressman Steny Hoyer, 
House majority leader, for his hard work on this bill. I thank so very 
much Senator Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 
and Senator Kit Bond, vice 
chairman, for joining us. I appreciate the hard work of Congressman 
Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the House 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Congressman Pete 
Hoekstra, ranking member. I also welcome 
Congressman Lamar Smith, ranking 
member of the House Judiciary. I thank all the other Members of the 
House and Senate who've joined us; appreciate your very good work.
    I welcome Attorney General Michael Mukasey, as well as Admiral Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence. Appreciate other 
members of the administration who have joined us. I want to thank the 
congressional staff who are here and all the supporters of this piece of 
legislation.
    Almost 7 years have passed since that September morning when nearly 
3,000 men, women, and children were murdered in our midst. The attack 
changed our country forever. We realized America was at--a nation at war 
against a ruthless and persistent enemy. We realized that these violent 
extremists would spare no effort to kill again. And in the aftermath of 
9/11, few would have imagined that we would be standing here 7 years 
later without another attack on American soil.
    The fact that the terrorists have failed to strike our shores again 
does not mean that our enemies have given up. To the contrary, since 9/
11, they've plotted a number of attacks on our homeland. Like Members 
standing up here, I receive briefings on the very real and very 
dangerous threats that America continues to face.
    One of the important lessons learned after 9/11 was that America's 
intelligence professionals lacked some of the tools they needed to 
monitor the communications of terrorists abroad. It's essential that our 
intelligence community know who our enemies are talking to, what they're 
saying, and what they're planning. Last year, Congress passed temporary 
legislation that helped our intelligence community monitor these 
communications.
    The legislation I am signing today will ensure that our intelligence 
community professionals have the tools they need to protect our country 
in the years to come. The DNI and the 
Attorney General both report that, once 
enacted, this law will provide vital assistance to our intelligence 
officials in their work to thwart terrorist plots. This law will ensure 
that those companies whose assistance is necessary to protect the 
country will themselves be protected from lawsuits from past or future 
cooperation with the government. This law will protect the liberties of 
our citizens while maintaining the vital flow of intelligence. This law 
will play a critical role in helping to prevent another attack on our 
soil.
    Protecting America from another attack is the most important 
responsibility of the Federal Government, the most solemn obligation 
that a President undertakes. When I first addressed the Congress after 
9/11, I carried a badge by the mother of a 
police officer who died in the World Trade Center. I pledged to her, to 
the families of the victims, and to the American people

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that I would never forget the wound that was inflicted on our country. I 
vowed to do everything in my power to prevent another attack on our 
Nation. I believe this legislation is going to help keep that promise. 
And I thank the Members who have joined us. And now it's my honor to 
sign the bill.

Note: The President spoke at 1:17 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. H.R. 6304, approved July 10, was assigned Public Law No. 110-261.