    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 31 (Monday, August 6, 2007)]
    [Pages 1027-1028]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    July 28, 2007

        Good morning. This week, I visited with troops at Charleston Air
    Force Base. These fine men and women are serving courageously to protect
    our country against dangerous enemies. The terrorist network that struck
    America on September the 11th wants to strike our country again. To stop
    them, our military, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals need
    the best possible information about who the terrorists are, where they
    are, and what they are planning.
        One of the most important ways we can gather that information is by
    monitoring terrorist communications. The Foreign Intelligence
    Surveillance Act, also known as FISA, provides a critical legal
    foundation that allows our intelligence community to collect this
    information while protecting the civil liberties of Americans. But this
    important law was written in 1978, and it addressed the technologies of
    that era. This law is badly out of date, and Congress must act to
    modernize it.
        Today, we face sophisticated terrorists who use disposable cell
    phones and the Internet to communicate with each other, recruit
    operatives, and plan attacks on our country. Technologies like these
    were not available when FISA was passed nearly 30 years ago, and FISA
    has not kept up with new technological developments. As a result, our
    Nation is hampered in its ability to gain the vital intelligence we need
    to keep the American people safe. In his testimony to Congress in May,
    Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, put it this way:
    We are, quote, ``significantly burdened in capturing overseas
    communications of foreign terrorists planning to conduct attacks inside
    the United States.''
        To fix this problem, my administration has proposed a bill that
    would modernize the FISA statute. This legislation is the product of
    months of discussion with members of both parties in the House and the
    Senate, and it includes four key reforms. First, it brings FISA up to
    date with the changes in communications technology that have taken place
    over the past three decades. Second, it seeks to restore FISA to its
    original focus on protecting the privacy interests of people inside the
    United States, so we don't have to obtain court orders to effectively
    collect foreign intelligence about foreign targets located in foreign
    locations. Third, it allows the government to work more efficiently with
    private sector entities like communications providers, whose help is
    essential. And fourth, it will streamline administrative processes so
    our intelligence community can gather foreign intelligence more quickly
    and more effectively while protecting civil liberties.
        Our intelligence community warns that under the current statute, we
    are missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence that we should
    be collecting to protect our country. Congress needs to act immediately
    to pass this bill, so that our national security professionals can close
    intelligence gaps and provide critical warning time for our country.
        As the recent National Intelligence Estimate reported, America is in
    a heightened-threat environment. Reforming FISA will help our
    intelligence professionals address those threats, and they should not
    have to wait any longer. Congress will soon be leaving for its August
    recess. I ask Republicans and Democrats to work together to pass FISA
    modernization now, before they leave town. Our national security depends
    on it.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7 a.m. on July 27 in the Cabinet Room
    at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 28. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    the morning of July 28 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast.

    [[Page 1028]]

    The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of this address.