WASHINGTON   –  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today issued the following statement on repeated attempts by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to bring key intelligence legislation up for a vote.

“We are working on this every single day, trying to plug the gap in our intelligence capabilities.  The declassified documents on this issue are very concerning.  Without the authority to move quickly to intercept overseas conversations between suspected terrorists, there is a vulnerability in our counter-terrorism and intelligence-gathering operations,” Emerson said.  “As a matter of policy, allowing this authority to expire has removed a valued tool from the toolbox of our intelligence community.”

The legislation, H.R. 3773, was passed by the Senate on February 12, but because the bill had not been considered in the House of Representatives, the authority for warrantless surveillance of overseas communications between suspected terrorists expired at midnight on February 16th.