[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 7 (Monday, February 25, 2008)]
[Pages 226-227]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

February 16, 2008

    Good morning. At the stroke of midnight tonight, a vital 
intelligence law that is helping protect our Nation will expire. 
Congress had the power to prevent this from happening, but chose not to.
    The Senate passed a good bill that would have given our intelligence 
professionals the tools they need to keep us safe. But leaders in the 
House of Representatives blocked a House vote on the Senate bill and 
then left on a 10-day recess.
    Some congressional leaders claim that this will not affect our 
security. They are wrong. Because Congress failed to act, it will be 
harder for our Government to keep you safe from terrorist attack. At 
midnight, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence 
will be stripped of their power to authorize new surveillance against 
terrorist

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threats abroad. This means that as terrorists change their tactics to 
avoid our surveillance, we may not have the tools we need to continue 
tracking them, and we may lose a vital lead that could prevent an attack 
on America.
    In addition, Congress has put intelligence activities at risk even 
when the terrorists don't change tactics. By failing to act, Congress 
has created a question about whether private sector companies who assist 
in our efforts to defend you from the terrorists could be sued for doing 
the right thing. Now, these companies will be increasingly reluctant to 
provide this vital cooperation because of their uncertainty about the 
law and fear of being sued by class-action trial lawyers.
    For 6 months, I urged Congress to take action to ensure this 
dangerous situation did not come to pass. I even signed a 2-week 
extension of the existing law because Members of Congress said they 
would use that time to work out their differences. The Senate used this 
time productively and passed a good bill with a strong, bipartisan 
super-majority of 68 votes. Republicans and Democrats came together on 
legislation to ensure that we could effectively monitor those seeking to 
harm our people. And they voted to provide fair and just liability 
protection for companies that assisted in efforts to protect America 
after the attacks of 9/11.
    The Senate sent this bill to the House for its approval. It was 
clear that if given a vote, the bill would have passed the House with a 
bipartisan majority. I made every effort to work with the House to 
secure passage of this law. I even offered to delay my trip to Africa if 
we could come together and enact a good bill. But House leaders refused 
to let the bill come to a vote. Instead, the House held partisan votes 
that do nothing to keep our country safer. House leaders chose politics 
over protecting the country, and our country is at greater risk as a 
result.
    House leaders have no excuse for this failure. They knew all along 
that this deadline was approaching because they set it themselves. My 
administration will take every step within our power to minimize the 
damage caused by the House's irresponsible behavior. Yet it is still 
urgent that Congress act. The Senate has shown the way by approving a 
good, bipartisan bill. The House must pass that bill as soon as they 
return to Washington from their latest recess.
    At this moment, somewhere in the world, terrorists are planning a 
new attack on America, and Congress has no higher responsibility than 
ensuring we have the tools to stop them.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 11:45 a.m., e.d.t., on February 15 in 
the Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m., e.d.t., 
on February 16. The transcript was made available by the Office of the 
Press Secretary on February 15 but was embargoed for release until the 
broadcast. Due to the 6-hour time difference, the radio address was 
broadcast after the President's remarks in Benin. The Office of the 
Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.