Bush marks 5th anniversary of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON (AP) - March 6, 2008 In a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security, Bush said U.S. officials have
helped foil numerous planned attacks, including a plot to fly an
airplane into the tallest building on the West Coast and another to
blow up trans-Atlantic passenger jets.
"The enemy remains active - deadly in its intent - and in the
face of this danger, the United States must never let down its
guard," Bush said.
Bush continued to pressure the House to act on Senate-passed
legislation needed to renew an intelligence law that governs how
the government can eavesdrop on suspected terrorists. The law
expired Feb. 16 and the House and Senate have yet to reconcile
different versions of a new intelligence bill.
The Senate bill provides retroactive protection from lawsuits
for telecommunications companies that wiretapped U.S. phone and
computer lines at the government's request, but without the
permission of a secret court created 30 years ago to oversee such
activities. The House version does not provide such immunity
against lawsuits.
"To stop the attacks on America, we need to know who the
terrorists are talking to, what they're saying, what they're
planning," Bush said. "We cannot get this vital information
without the cooperation of private companies.
"Unfortunately, some private companies have been sued for
billions of dollars because they are believed to have helped defend
America after the attacks of Sept. 11. Allowing these lawsuits to
proceed would be unfair, because if any of these companies helped
us, they did so after being told by the government that their
assistance was legal and that their assistance was necessary to
defend the homeland."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had said it would take
about 21 days to reconcile the two bills. That time runs out this
weekend, Bush said. The House, however, isn't near finishing a
compromise version of the law, and there has been no agreement
about what to do about the contested provision to give
telecommunications companies legal immunity.
Pelosi said Thursday that the House is working to find a
compromise bill with the Senate, but offered no timeline.
"At the time, House leaders declared they needed 21 more days
to work out their differences and get a bill to my desk," Bush
said. "The deadline arrives on Saturday. If House leaders are
serious about security, they will need to meet the deadline they
set for themselves, pass the bipartisan Senate bill, and get it to
my desk this Saturday."