Fact Sheet: Congress Must Act Now to Keep a Critical Intelligence Gap Closed

10 Days and Counting - Congress Should Act Now to Ensure Our
Intelligence Community Has the Tools It Needs to Protect Us from
Foreign Terrorists
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--"The Protect America Act expires in just 10 days, yet after nearly
six months of delay, Congress has still not taken the necessary action
to keep our Nation safe. The terrorist threat we face does not expire
on February 1. For the sake of our national security, Congress must
act now to send the President a bill that keeps a critical
intelligence gap permanently closed and provides meaningful liability
protection for companies that may have assisted in efforts to defend
America following the 9/11 attacks."

-- White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, 1/22/08

Congress has just 10 days to permanently close a critical
intelligence gap that was making our Nation less safe. Last August,
Congress passed the Protect America Act (PAA), which provided our
Intelligence Community a critical tool it needs to acquire important
information about terrorists who want to harm America. The PAA will
expire in just 10 days. Congress must act now to keep our Nation safe
by making the critical authority to collect intelligence under the PAA
permanent and by providing meaningful liability protection to
companies alleged in lawsuits to have assisted in the efforts to
defend our Nation following the 9/11 attacks.

-- The terrorist threat does not expire February 1, and neither
should legislation critical to keeping our Nation safe. The
Senate Intelligence Committee has approved a bipartisan bill
that, while not perfect, is a significant step in the right
direction. Congress should continue its work on this bill and
send the President legislation as soon as possible that he can
sign.

The Senate Intelligence Committee Bill Represents A Bipartisan
Solution That Would Protect Americans And Their Liberties

The Senate Intelligence Committee bill was crafted in a careful,
bipartisan manner to protect our country against terrorists and other
foreign threats while preserving the privacy of Americans. This bill
would:

1. Put in place extensive privacy safeguards. For example, it
appropriately retains a requirement to seek court orders to conduct
surveillance of persons in the U.S. It also requires court review of
the procedures used to protect information about Americans.

2. Make America safer by extending the authority we need to keep
critical intelligence gaps closed. Outdated provisions in Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) often required us to obtain court
orders before intercepting the communications of terrorists overseas.
This bill would correct that problem.

3. Provide liability protection to companies alleged to have
assisted the Nation with intelligence activities after the September
11 attacks. This protection would only be extended if the companies
were told the activity was authorized by the President and determined
to be lawful.

The Administration has some concerns with the Senate Intelligence
Committee bill, but it represents the best chance for a timely and
bipartisan solution to help keep our Nation safe. For example, the
Administration opposes particular technical aspects of the so-called
"Wyden Amendment," which would impose undue operational burdens on the
Intelligence Community's collection of foreign intelligence
information on U.S. persons. We look forward to working with Congress
to address these concerns.

Liability Protection Is Critical To The Ongoing Effort To Protect
The Nation From Another Catastrophic Attack

The Senate Intelligence Committee carefully studied this issue and
found that without the limited retroactive liability protection
discussed above, "the private sector might be unwilling to cooperate
with lawful government requests." The Committee rightly determined
that this lack of protection could result in a "possible reduction in
intelligence" that is "unacceptable for the safety of our Nation."

The proposed liability protection is based on the Intelligence
Committee's conclusion that companies acted in good faith with written
assurances from the government and in the aftermath of the worst
foreign attack on U.S. soil in history. It would not prevent lawsuits
against the government and would not provide immunity from criminal
prosecution.

Companies should not be held responsible for verifying the
government's determination that requested assistance was necessary and
lawful - and such an impossible requirement would hurt our ability to
keep the Nation safe. Requiring companies to second-guess the
government's determinations would slow or eliminate critical
intelligence collection and would place private parties in the
impossible position of making legal determinations without access to
the classified facts necessary to make such determinations.

Companies alleged to have assisted the government in the aftermath
of September 11th should not face massive and costly litigation for
helping protect our country. Such litigation also risks the disclosure
of highly classified information.

Failing to provide such protection sends an unfortunate message to
every private party that may in the future consider whether to help
the Nation.

White House Press Office
1-202-456-2580

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