Press Releases

Chairman Rogers Supports Short Term Extension of Patriot Act Provisions

U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), issued a statement supporting the extension of the Patriot Act, which was being debated in the House of Representatives today.

The bill is a straight short term extension of key legal authorities which are set to expire later this month and are part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The bill provides temporary extensions for three expiring laws that are helping the intelligence community detect and prevent potential attacks. The legislation extends these authorities until December 8, 2011.

"It is our duty to examine the provisions in a full, aggressive and thoughtful process instead of just rushing through a long term extension," said Chairman Rogers. "The next nine months will allow the time to negotiate and pass a longer term, and ideally permanent extension. This short term extension gives us enough running room to get that job done," he said.

Rogers continued, "These authorities came about because our laws had failed to keep pace with the evolving terrorist threat, which is even more complex today. The enemy is adapting and our laws were relatively antiquated before these revisions were made."

The House Intelligence Committee is regularly updated on implementation of the legal authorities in both briefings and written reports from the Intelligence Community. The issues associated with these provisions have been extensively debated and discussed in Congress over the last decade.

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