For Immediate Release                                                        Contact:  Susan Phalen
September 12, 2012                                                            (202) 225-4121

Chairman Rogers Applauds House Passage of FISA Amendments Bill in a Bipartisan Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  Chairman Rogers today released the following statement regarding House passage of the FISA Amendments Act reauthorization bill in a bipartisan vote.

Statement by Chairman Rogers

“The events in Egypt and Libya over the past 36 hours remind us of just how dangerous the world is. Those who seek to do harm to the United States, U.S. interests and U.S. citizens not only exist but are ruthless.

“The FISA Amendments Act reauthorizes a critical intelligence gathering tool, without which the United States would be at a serious disadvantage against our adversaries.  This important bipartisan legislation provides the government with the authority to target the communications of foreigners located outside the United States with greater speed and agility.  This authority is used to gain intelligence about the plans and identities of terrorists, information about the functioning of terrorist groups like al Qaeda, information on the intentions and capabilities of weapons proliferators, information on potential cyber threats to the United States, and other critical intelligence about foreign adversaries that threaten the United States, and at the same time protects Americans' civil liberties.

“FAA has been subject to a robust, bipartisan oversight process in the four years since passage, including by the House Intelligence Committee.  This authority has been supported overwhelmingly by both parties in Congress over the course both Republican and Democrat presidential administrations.  This is a bill being driven by our national security needs and not by the politics of the day.

“I urge my colleagues in the Senate to act expeditiously to pass the same extension the House passed today in a bipartisan vote and to send it on to the President for signature.”

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