You would think he would be happy with the abject capitulation of Congress to his every whim. One might think that but noooooo, you would be wrong FISA breath. Bush wants more.
He begins with this statement:
The Protect America Act, passed with bipartisan support in the House and Senate, achieves both of these goals by modernizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Over the past three decades this law has not kept pace with revolutionary changes in technology. As a result, our intelligence professionals have told us that they are missing significant intelligence information that they need to protect the country.
Well, if FISA has not kept up it because this and past administrations have sought to undermine it. But here is something more important on his mind.
Presidential Signing Message
When Congress returns in September the Intelligence committees and leaders in both parties will need to complete work on the comprehensive reforms requested by Director McConnell, including the important issue of providing meaningful liability protection to those who are alleged to have assisted our Nation following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Notice in particular the phrase "those who are alleged to have assisted our Nation". Bush put this in because the bill passed this weekend did not address the question of the liability of the telecoms involved in his spy program. Specifically, he wants ATT and others off the hook for cooperating in an illegal surveillance program. I am certain that, in the spirit of bipartisanship, our representatives would love to help out their campain fund contributors.
Who would they be?
I commend members of Congress who supported these important reforms, and also for acting before adjourning for recess. In particular, I want to thank Mitch McConnell and John Boehner for their strong leadership on this issue, and Senators Kit Bond and Dianne Feinstein for coming together in the Senate on an effective bipartisan solution. In the House of Representatives, Pete Hoekstra and Heather Wilson were instrumental in securing enactment of this vital piece of legislation before the August recess, and I thank them for their leadership.
I feel much the same, words cannot express my feelings for those listed above.