OUR PRINCIPLE. It has been more than four months since Washington Democrats allowed a key counterterrorism measure to lapse and vital national security tools to be stripped. As a result, we have been blinded to new terrorist plots. Today, however, after Republicans have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Directors of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, 25 bipartisan state attorneys general, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and countless editorial boards across the nation, a compromise will pass that gives our intelligence officials the tools they need to thwart terrorist attacks. This legislation is a victory for our intelligence community and the American people.

House Republicans have closed the terrorist loophole. Today’s legislation is the result of more than a year’s work on the part of House Republicans. When the Administration called on Congress to modernize our terrorist surveillance laws, it was House Republicans who acted first, with one goal in mind: preventing the next planned terrorist attack on our homeland.


House Democrats have done the right thing and compromised on this critical issue 125 days after they recklessly allowed the Protect America Act to expire. Make no mistake, this legislation is a victory for our intelligence community and the American people, but it should have come sooner, especially given the fact that the Senate passed a perfectly acceptable bipartisan bill more than four months ago.

This legislation gives our intelligence community the tools it needs to do its job and protect the American people. This legislation will make certain that our intelligence officials will have the ability to initiate foreign surveillance on foreign targets. At the same time, after-the-fact court review will be permitted.

This legislation does right by the telecommunications companies who have patriotically assisted the government in protecting the American people, just as any other American would if asked to help. This bill ensures that the process by which telecommunications companies receive liability protection is not subject to a feeding frenzy of trial lawyers. Once enacted, this legislation will instruct federal district courts to dismiss civil suits filed against companies that may have provided or are believed to have provided this critical assistance after being directed to do so by the federal government after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The nation’s top intelligence and law enforcement officials “strongly support” passage of this legislation. Late yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell wrote a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “strongly support[ing]” passage of this bipartisan legislation. You can access the letter here.

This legislation provides strong civil liberties protections. Republicans and Democrats worked together to guarantee that constitutional rights would not be compromised. In fact, this bill provides for FISA court review of future surveillance authorizations and federal district court review of civil liability determinations.