On the recordFebruary 25, 2010
Mr. Speaker, it is very, very important that we ensure that our intelligence professionals and our law enforcement professionals have the tools and the support they need to do their job. And we should never forget that their job is to protect us and prevent further terrorist attacks from killing Americans. Now, over the course of the day today, as we consider the Intelligence authorization bill, there have been a lot of words spoken in support of those intelligence and law enforcement professionals. But I would suggest that actions matter more than words. One of the actions we can take is to ensure that they have the tools they need to gather the information to stop terrorist plots. And these three expiring provisions of the PATRIOT Act that are being renewed for a year under this bill are some of the critical tools they need to gather that information and to protect us. Mr. Speaker, I count about eight plots or attempted terrorist attacks since last summer that have made the press, that have been stopped or thwarted in some way or another. One of them, unfortunately, was successful, and that was the attack at Fort Hood.
