Walberg: House Leaders Care More About Steroids in Baseball than Protecting America

Statement

U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) made the following statement after House leadership refused to schedule a vote on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Modernization Bill. This bi-partisan bill passed the Senate, in a 68-29 vote, earlier this week.

The FISA Modernization Bill would give the American intelligence community tools and flexibility needed to quickly respond to terrorist threats. Instead of passing this legislation, Democratic leadership in the House elected to let the FISA updates expire.

"This week, Congress has shown it is more concerned about steroids in baseball, Bill Belichick's practice tapes, Insecticides, Fungicides and Rodenticides than the safety of America.

"Our military and intelligence officials need the tools to protect American citizens from terrorist threats. We must allow American military and intelligence officials to monitor, without delay, calls of suspected and known foreign terrorists in foreign countries.

"Amazingly, today Democratic leadership denied a House vote on a bi-partisan FISA bill passed by the Senate earlier this week. This action will allow current FISA law to expire tomorrow and prevents our intelligence community from immediately monitoring Osama Bin Laden's phone calls.

"We must pass the bi-partisan legislation approved in the Senate so America's intelligence community can monitor Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks without having to go to court to get permission to listen to foreign terrorists plotting on foreign lands."

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