Bush Addresses US House Failure on FISA

President George Bush, Comment to News: We also discussed a serious problem facing our country, and that is the fact that house leaders blocked a good piece of legislation that would give our intelligence community the tools they need to protect america from a terrorist attack. America' s citizens must clearly understand that there is still a threat on the homeland. They would like to do us harm, and we have got to get our professionals the tools they need to be able to figure out what the enemy is at so we can stop it.

The senate passed a good bipartisan bill that makes sure our intelligence community has the tools necessary to protect america from this real threat, and I want to thank you all. And thank the democrats in the United States Senate who worked closely to get a strong piece of legislation with a 68-vote majority of the Senate. When it comes to the House of Representatives, it was blocked. By blocking this piece of legislation, our country is more in danger of an attack. By not giving the professionals at the tools they need, it is going to be a lot harder to do the job we need to be able to defend America. It does matter. In matters for a variety of reasons. It matters because intelligence officials will not have to unnecessary to get as much information as a possibly can to protect you. And it matters because these telephone companies that were to collaboratively help us to protect the American people are afraid they're going to get sued. The American people have got to understand that these losses make it harder -- these lawsuits make it harder to protect you.

By blocking this legislation, our professionals tell me they do not have all the tools they need to do their job. So now the House and Senate are off on a 12-day recess. When they come back from that recess, the House leaders must understand that the decision they made to block a good legislation has made it harder for us to protect you, the American people. We expect them to get a good bill as soon as possible.

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