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President Bush Signs H.R. 6304, FISA Amendments Act of 2008
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 10, 2008

President Bush Signs H.R. 6304, FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Rose Garden

˙ /news/releases/2008/07/20080710-2.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio ˙˙Photos

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: National Security

1:17 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Welcome to the Rose Garden. Today I'm pleased to
sign landmark legislation that is vital to the security of our people. The
bill will allow our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively
monitor the communications of terrorists abroad while respecting the
liberties of Americans here at home. The bill I sign today will help us
meet our most solemn responsibility: to stop new attacks and to protect our
people.

Members of my administration have made a vigorous case for this important
law. I want to thank them and I also want to thanks the members of the
House and the Senate who've worked incredibly hard to get this legislation
done. Mr. Vice President, welcome.

Respect the members of the Senate and the House who've joined us -- Senate
Republican Whip Jon Kyl; John Boehner, House Republican Leader; Roy Blunt,
House Republican Whip. I do want to pay special tribute to Congressman
Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader, for his hard work on this bill. I thank
so very much Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, and Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman, for joining
us. I appreciate the hard work of Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Chairman of
the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Congressman Pete
Hoekstra, Ranking Member. I also welcome Congressman Lamar Smith, Ranking
Member of the House Judiciary. I thank all the other members of the House
and Senate who have joined us. I appreciate your very good work.

I welcome Attorney General Michael Mukasey, as well as Admiral Mike
McConnell, Director of National Intelligence. I appreciate other members of
the administration who have joined us. I want to thank the congressional
staff who are here, and all the supporters of this piece of legislation.

Almost seven years have passed since that September morning when nearly
3,000 men, women and children were murdered in our midst. The attack
changed our country forever. We realized America was a nation at war
against a ruthless and persistent enemy. We realized that these violent
extremists would spare no effort to kill again. And in the aftermath of
9/11, few would have imagined that we would be standing here seven years
later without another attack on American soil.

The fact that the terrorists have failed to strike our shores again does
not mean that our enemies have given up. To the contrary, since 9/11
they've plotted a number of attacks on our homeland. I can remember
standing up here -- I receive briefings on the very real and very dangerous
threats that America continues to face.

One of the important lessons learned after 9/11 was that America's
intelligence professionals lacked some of the tools they needed to monitor
the communications of terrorists abroad. It is essential that our
intelligence community know who our enemies are talking to, what they're
saying, and what they're planning. Last year Congress passed temporary
legislation that helped our intelligence community monitor these
communications.

The legislation I am signing today will ensure that our intelligence
community professionals have the tools they need to protect our country in
the years to come. The DNI and the Attorney General both report that, once
enacted, this law will provide vital assistance to our intelligence
officials in their work to thwart terrorist plots. This law will ensure
that those companies whose assistance is necessary to protect the country
will themselves be protected from lawsuits from past or future cooperation
with the government. This law will protect the liberties of our citizens
while maintaining the vital flow of intelligence. This law will play a
critical role in helping to prevent another attack on our soil.

Protecting America from another attack is the most important responsibility
of the federal government -- the most solemn obligation that a President
undertakes. When I first addressed the Congress after 9/11, I carried a
badge by the mother of a police officer who died in the World Trade Center.
I pledged to her, to the families of the victims, and to the American
people that I would never forget the wound that was inflicted on our
country. I vowed to do everything in my power to prevent another attack on
our nation. I believe this legislation is going to help keep that promise.
And I thank the members who have joined us. And now it's my honor to sign
the bill.

(The bill is signed.) (Applause.)

END 1:22 P.M. EDT

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