John Kline: “al Qaeda and their terrorist allies are America's number one enemy. We all know that. They are constantly updating the…”

“al Qaeda and their terrorist allies are America's number one enemy. We all know that. They are constantly updating the way they communicate and dodge our intelligence networks. We should be doing nothing short of providing our intelligence officials with every tool necessary to always stay a step ahead of these radical extremists. Admiral Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, when asked about the Protect America Act, said this, ``We must be able to continue effectively obtaining the information gained through this law if we are to stay ahead of terrorists who are determined to attack the United States.'' House Republicans have led the way in delivering 21st century intelligence collection to protect our citizens. The law now gives enforcement the tools and flexibility needed to quickly respond to terrorist threats because House Republicans acted to close a dangerous loophole in an outdated intelligence law. But the law is threatened today by the House Democrat majority who are more interested in getting it for partisan reasons than to provide this country and our allies abroad the protection necessary as we continue to fight terrorism. A short-term extension is not enough. We need a permanent fix now.”