One week from today, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will expire unless Congress passes a new version that President Bush is willing to sign.  If it expires, our intelligence gatherers here and abroad will be rendered blind and deaf because the legality of their operations will be put in limbo.

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FISA -- which dates back to the Carter administration -- is a law that is supposed to govern how intelligence agencies collect data on foreign agents in the United States.  Though the President has Constitutional authority to do this outside of the framework of FISA, President Bush chose last year to submit the National Security Agency’s terrorist surveillance program to FISA limitations when the existence of the highly classified program was leaked to and published by the New York Times.

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With the expiration date closing in, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) finally began floor action on the FISA bill. But he and the other liberals are trying to wheedle another short-term extension without the telecom immunity the intelligence community wants and needs.  Both McConnells -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and Director of National Intelligence Adm. Mike McConnell -- have rejected the idea. 

... Nothing could be more urgent than protecting this vital national security tool before its expiration on Feb. 1.  Our first duty is to protect Americans from harm, and we know for a fact this law has helped us detect and disrupt terrorist plots.  It would be grossly irresponsible for Congress to weaken it or let it lapse.  And the notion that some in Congress would even consider filibustering this vital anti-terror tool is difficult to comprehend.

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We’ve put this off long enough.  Let’s pass this bill, and protect this vital tool before it expires.