It has now been 66 days since the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the principal legal tool for wiretapping overseas terrorists expired. Democrat House leaders have repeatedly forbidden a vote on a bipartisan reauthorization.

Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are dedicated to violently attacking our American way of life, yet for over three weeks, our intelligence agents have been unable to monitor suspected terrorist phone calls and email communications without needless and dangerous delays. The reason for this lapse in national security – partisan leaders in the House refuse to allow a vote on a bipartisan bill to extend the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

On February 16, FISA, the principal tool for listening to foreign terrorists, expired due to Congressional inaction. This act is important because it allows our intelligence agents to quickly and effectively gain legal permission to wiretap terrorists. Essentially, FISA makes our country safer by helping to prevent future attacks. Since these provisions can only be used for communications taking place overseas, it balances the security needs of the nation while guaranteeing Constitutional privacy protections for Americans.

In the week before FISA expired, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan compromise called the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 by a vote of 68-29. This bill would have extended FISA for the long-term, modernized our intelligence capabilities, and given our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan an added level of intelligence protection on the battlefield. As the 9/11 Commission reported, making sure our intelligence assets quickly receive the best information is the most effective way to stop terrorist threats.

The bill also included liability protections for telecommunications companies who patriotically worked with U.S. intelligence agencies after September 11, 2001. This fair, bipartisan addition was included to protect American companies from frivolous and unjust lawsuits. Unfortunately, House Democrat leaders prevented us from voting on this important bill. It’s a hard enough challenge protecting the nation as it is - we shouldn’t have to do it with one hand tied behind our back.

After the House failed to vote on the FISA extension, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said, “Our ability to gather information concerning the intentions and planning of terrorists and other foreign intelligence agents will continue to downgrade.” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) similarly said, “People have to understand around here that the quality of the intelligence that we’re going to be receiving is going to be downgraded.”

This bipartisan concern demonstrates that the expiration of FISA dangerously undermines our national security and puts our country at risk. We have got to be able to listen to what the terrorists are saying and I will continue working in a bipartisan manner to persuade Democrat leaders to allow a vote on a long term-extension of FISA.