Cornyn: Critical Foreign Intelligence Will Save American Lives

Statement

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement this afternoon regarding the need to permanently modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act:

"One of the key lessons of the 9/11 attacks is that our government has to do a better job of connecting the dots regarding foreign surveillance. Erecting more walls gives our adversaries an advantage and places American lives in greater danger of another attack.

"In August, the Director of National Intelligence told Congress that because several key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) had not been updated to reflect changes in modern technology, our security agencies were blocked from receiving as much as two-thirds of the communications between suspected foreign terrorists. The Protect America Act, which Congress passed soon afterwards, moved our intelligence capabilities in the right direction but we need to make those tools permanent.

"America's elected leaders have a duty to keep the American people safe. We know that the ability to obtain the right information at the right time is critically important in our struggle against radical Islamic terrorists. We must ensure that our intelligence community has the tools necessary to collect information to protect our nation's security, while respecting Americans' civil liberties.

"In the face of the very real threat of radical Islamic terror, Congress must be resolute—and must never lack a sense of urgency. That's why it defies credibility for the Democrats to argue that the responsible thing to do is to put off making tough choices for one more month.

"Now is the time for Congress to decide this question. No more excuses. No more delays. No more extensions. The Senate can and should choose a path forward immediately - a bipartisan path on a critical national security bill."

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