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Skriven 2005-12-10 23:33:28 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (051210) for Sat, 2005 Dec 10
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President's Radio Address
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For Immediate Release
December 10, 2005

President's Radio Address


ÿÿÿÿÿAudio
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THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week members of a House and Senate
conference committee reached an agreement on reauthorization of the Patriot
Act. Since its passage after the attacks of September the 11th, 2001, the
Patriot Act has proved essential to fighting the war on terror and
preventing our enemies from striking America again.

This week's agreement would renew all 16 provisions of the Patriot Act that
are scheduled to expire at the end of this month -- and it would make 14 of
these provisions permanent. It reauthorizes critical national security
tools, while bolstering the Patriot Act's significant protections of civil
liberties. It also includes provisions to fight crime and terrorism at
America's seaports, and tougher criminal penalties and increased resources
to combat the dangerous spread of methamphetamine abuse throughout our
country.

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I applaud the conference committee for its good work. Now Congress needs to
finish the job. Both the Senate and the House need to hold a prompt vote,
and send me a bill renewing the Patriot Act so I can sign it into law.

Over the past four years, the Patriot Act has been a strong weapon for
going after the terrorists. America's law enforcement and intelligence
personnel have put the Patriot Act to wise and effective use while
protecting our civil liberties. They have used the law to prosecute
terrorist operatives and supporters or break up terror cells in New York,
Oregon, Virginia, California, Texas, and Ohio. The Patriot Act has
accomplished exactly what it was designed to do -- it has protected
American liberty and saved American lives.

By renewing the Patriot Act, we will ensure that our law enforcement and
intelligence officers have the tools they need to protect our citizens. The
Patriot Act tore down the legal and bureaucratic wall that kept law
enforcement and intelligence authorities from sharing vital information
about terrorist threats. Now law enforcement and intelligence officers are
working together.

The Patriot Act also allowed federal investigators to pursue terrorists
with the same tools they already use against other criminals. For example,
before the Patriot Act, it was easier to track the phone calls of a drug
dealer than the phone calls of a terrorist. Before the Patriot Act, it was
easier to get the credit card receipts of a tax cheat than those of an al
Qaeda bankroller. The Patriot Act ended these double standards. The theory
is straightforward: If we have good tools to fight street crime and fraud,
then law enforcement should have at least the same tools to fight
terrorism.

The Patriot Act is helping America defeat our enemies while safeguarding
civil liberties for all our people. The judicial branch has a strong
oversight role in the application of the Patriot Act. Under the act, law
enforcement officers need a federal judge's permission to wiretap a foreign
terrorist's phone or search his property. Congress also oversees our use of
the Patriot Act. Attorney General Gonzales delivers regular reports on the
Patriot Act to the House and the Senate.

The valuable protections of the Patriot Act will expire at the end of this
month if Congress fails to act, but the terrorist threats will not expire
on that schedule. In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this
vital law for a single moment. So I urge Congress to approve the conference
committee agreement promptly and reauthorize the Patriot Act.

Thank you for listening.

END
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