[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 6 (Monday, February 18, 2008)]
[Page 185]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Intelligence Reform Legislation

February 13, 2008

    Director, thank you for joining me. Good morning. At this moment, 
somewhere in the world, terrorists are planning new attacks on our 
country. Their goal is to bring destruction to our shores that will make 
September the 11th pale by comparison. To carry out their plans, they 
must communicate with each other, they must recruit operatives, and they 
must share information.
    The lives of countless Americans depend on our ability to monitor 
these communications. Our intelligence professionals must be able to 
find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and 
what they're planning.
    To help our intelligence agencies do this, Congress passed the 
Protect America Act last year. Unfortunately, Congress set the law to 
expire on February the 1st and then failed to pass new legislation that 
would keep these tools in effect over the long run. And so at the 11th 
hour, Congress passed a temporary 15-day extension of the current law, 
which will expire at midnight this Saturday. I signed that extension. I 
did so to give Members of the House and the Senate more time to work out 
their differences.
    Well, the Senate has used this time wisely. I am pleased that last 
night, Senators approved new legislation that will ensure our 
intelligence professionals have the tools they need to make us safer, 
and they did so by a wide, bipartisan majority. The Senate bill also 
provides fair and just liability protections for companies that did the 
right thing and assisted in defending America after the attacks of 
September the 11th.
    In order to be able to discover enemy--the enemy's plans, we need 
the cooperation of telecommunication companies. If these companies are 
subjected to lawsuits that could cost them billions of dollars, they 
won't participate, they won't help us, they won't help protect America. 
Liability protection is critical to securing the private sector's 
cooperation with our intelligence efforts. The Senate has passed a good 
bill and has shown that protecting our Nation is not a partisan issue. 
And I congratulate the Senators.
    Unfortunately, the House has failed to pass a good bill. And now 
House leaders say they want still more time to reach an agreement with 
the Senate on a final bill. They make this claim even though it is clear 
that the Senate bill, the bill passed last night, has significant 
bipartisan support in the House.
    Congress has had over 6 months to discuss and deliberate. The time 
for debate is over. I will not accept any temporary extension. House 
Members have had plenty of time to pass a good bill. They have already 
been given a 2-week extension beyond the deadline they set for 
themselves. If Republicans and Democrats in the Senate can come together 
on a good piece of legislation, there is no reason why Republicans and 
Democrats in the House cannot pass the Senate bill immediately.
    The House's failure to pass the bipartisan Senate bill would 
jeopardize the security of our citizens. As Director McConnell has told 
me, without this law, our ability to prevent new attacks will be 
weakened, and it will become harder for us to uncover terrorist plots. 
We must not allow this to happen. It is time for Congress to ensure the 
flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted. It is time for Congress to 
pass a law that provides a long-term foundation to protect our country. 
And they must do so immediately.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 9:01 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to H.R. 3773.