Posted on 08/03/2007 5:23:47 PM PDT by silent_jonny
President Bush signed the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 in the Oval Office this morning.
The president, along with Vice President Cheney and other members of his administration, then met with the counter-terrorism team at the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington.
Afterwards, the president made a statement to the press, saying he wants the Democrats in Congress to stop playing politics with our national defense and send him an intelligence bill that he can sign, forcing Congress to stay in session through the August break if necessary. The president does have that authority. (Transcript)
First Lady Laura Bush arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and met with officials, volunteers and workers who are dealing with the collapsed I-35W bridge.(Transcript)
The president left the White House this afternoon for Camp David.
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island
Quote of the Day:
President Bush: It's important for the American people to understand there are cold-blooded killers who want to come to our homeland and wreak havoc through death. And that's what we were discussing today.We take a clear-eyed view of the world. The people on this team, assembled in this building see the world the way it is, not the way we hope it is. And this is a dangerous world because there's an enemy that wants to strike the homeland again. …The terrorists we face are sophisticated, they are cold-blooded, they are changing tactics and we must always stay ahead of them.
Photos of the Day:
One of the helicopters in the entourage of first lady Laura Bush flies over the collapsed wreckage of the I-35W freeway bridge in the Mississippi River, Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, in Minneapolis, Minn.
First lady Laura Bush is embraced by Minnesota first lady Mary Pawlenty as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, top, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, right, look on Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at the site of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
Hi!
Good evening!
Hi, Kas :) How are you?
Standing behind the president, from left to are, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
Looking on are (L-R) Congressman Bernie Thompson (D-MS), Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Senator Susan Collins (D-ME) and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK).
Standing behind the president, from left are, Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
President Bush shakes hands with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., left, as Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, looks on.
I’m doing great, Thanks for asking. How are you?
Behind the president, from left are, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Vice President Dick Cheney, Admiral Mike McConnell, director National Intelligence, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend.
With FBI Director Robert Mueller
President Bush: Part of the effort to do our job, part of the effort for this federal government to do the job the American people expects us to do in protecting you is to close intelligence gaps. We have such an intelligence gap in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The act needs to be modernized so that all of us engaged in protecting the American people say we have the tools we need to protect you.The Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, has provided the Congress with a narrow and targeted piece of legislation that will close the gaps in intelligence. In other words, he's working on the Hill and he's told members this is what we need to do our job to protect the American people. It's the bare minimum the DNI said he needs to do his job.
When Congress sends me their version, when Congress listens to all the data and facts and they send me a version of how to close those gaps, I'll ask one question, and I'm going to ask the DNI: Does this legislation give you what you need to prevent an attack on the country? Is this what you need to do your job, Mr. DNI? That's the question I'm going to ask. And if the answer is yes, I'll sign the bill. And if the answer is no, I'm going to veto the bill.
And so far the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill I can sign. We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk.
Time is short. I'm going to ask Congress to stay in session until they pass a bill that will give our intelligence community the tools they need to protect the United States.
First lady Laura Bush talks with first responder and Red Cross volunteer Jay Reeves, who helped rescue children from a school bus, as she visits the site of the I-35W bridge collapse, Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, in Minneapolis.
I don’t have a life and I refreshed at just the right moment!
First lady Laura Bush is embraced by Minnesota first lady Mary Pawlenty as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, top, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, right, look on Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at the site of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
The now infamous school bus is visible on the left.
Mrs. Bush: Well, this gives me an opportunity to thank you all for what you do all the time, for being trained volunteers for the Red Cross, and especially what you've done over the last couple of days in this tragedy here in Minnesota. I've met, as you might imagine, with Red Cross workers many a time since my husband has been President -- a lot on the Gulf Coast, in a lot of different towns across the Gulf Coast after the hurricanes.And our country really, really depends on you. We depend on you to come in at all the toughest times in our country, from 9/11 -- when George has been President -- to the hurricane to this now. So I want to thank you all for that. Thank you for being prepared and ready to step in when the time comes.
I know that it's -- even though you're trained, it's hard. And it's hard for you, and I know it's hard for you psychologically, as well, to watch and to see the people who are grieving. And I know you grieve with them.
So I want to thank you very, very much for helping all the people here and for serving our country the way you do.
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