Walberg: Let's Pass Bi-Partisan Intelligence Gathering Bill to Protect America

Press Release

U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) issued the following statement after House Democratic leaders forced another vote on an inadequate counterterrorism bill.

House leadership continues to refuse to allow a vote on the bi-partisan, Senate passed update and extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

"Gathering intelligence to defend Americans against terrorist threats is critical to our safety," Walberg said. "On February 17, much-needed updates to the FISA Act expired, and our military and intelligence officials need these tools to protect American citizens from terrorist threats. We must pass the foreign intelligence surveillance law so America's intelligence community can monitor al-Qaida and other terrorist networks in foreign lands without having to wait in line at a court."

The bi-partisan FISA bill passed the Senate on February 12 in a 68-29 vote. In the following 30 days, House leadership has allowed about 60 other House votes to be held, including a vote to increase taxes on American gas and oil production. However, during that time, not a single vote on a real intelligence gathering bill has occurred.

"The Preamble to the Constitution provides a list of the primary responsibilities of Congress," Walberg said. "Chief among these is the responsibility to ‘provide for the common defense.' I take very seriously my constitutional duty to uphold the safety of our great nation. Without a FISA update, our nation is a risk. We must not prevent our intelligence community from being able to monitor Osama bin Laden's phone calls."

Walberg is working with a coalition of House members, Republicans and Democrats, to pass the bi-partisan FISA bill that passed the Senate with overwhelming bi-partisan support.

"Our military and intelligence officials need the tools to protect American citizens from terrorist threats. American military and intelligence officials need to be able to monitor, without delay, calls of suspected and known foreign terrorists in foreign countries," Walberg said.

BACKGROUND:

- Support for the Senate passed, bi-partisan FISA legislation is growing:

A former CIA Official and Adviser to Sen. Barack Obama Supports the Senate FISA Bill: In an interview published by National Journal Magazine on Friday, John Brennan, a foreign policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama and former CIA official who once served as head of the National Counterterrorism Center, said, "There is this great debate over whether or not the telecom companies should in fact be given immunity for their agreement to provide support and cooperate with the government after 9/11. I do believe strongly that they should be granted that immunity, because they were told to do so by the appropriate authorities that were operating in a legal context, and so I think that's important. And I know people are concerned about that, but I do believe that's the right thing to do. I do believe the Senate version of the FISA bill addresses the issues appropriately."

A bi-partisan group of 25 State Attorneys General wrote a letter to House leaders urging passage of the bipartisan Senate bill: "Passing S. 2248 would ensure our intelligence experts are once again able to conduct real-time surveillance. … As Attorneys General, we are our states' chief law enforcement officials and therefore responsible for taking whatever action is necessary to keep our citizens safe. With S. 2248 still pending in the House of Representatives, our national security is in jeopardy. We therefore urge the House of Representatives to schedule a vote and pass the FISA Amendments Act of 2007."

Glenn Sulmasy, a Harvard University national security expert, said updated FISA legislation "has allowed the United States to close a significant intelligence gap by enabling intelligence professionals to collect, without a court order, foreign intelligence on targets located overseas."

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