Franks Supports H.R. 5825 the "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act"

Franks Supports H.R. 5825 the "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act"

Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) supports passage of H.R. 5825, the "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act."

Franks said, "We face an enemy that is not merely determined to harm our nation, they are dead set on destroying us. Nine months after 911, Osama Bin Laden's official press spokesman made a chilling announcement on a now defunct Web site: We have the right to kill 4 million Americans—2 million of them children—and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands.

"In the very simplest of terms, the strategic goal of terrorists in this war is to be able a hide from justice long enough to gain access to weapons of mass destruction with which they can strike chaos and devastation in our nation and radically alter the future of American freedom for generations to come. The strategic challenge we face is in finding and defeating terrorists before they gain access to such weapons and proceed to achieve their horrifying goal. Timely and reliable intelligence is critical to meeting that challenge."

H.R. 5825 provides the President with the clear authority to collect electronic surveillance without a court order for up to 90 days after an armed attack to acquire foreign intelligence information. It also permits the President to authorize electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information in face of an imminent attack for up to 90 days. Moreover, H.R. 5825 modernizes current electronic surveillance laws, implemented in 1978, so that they meet the needs of 2006.

http://www.house.gov/list/press/az02_franks/fisa.html