President George W. Bush on Saturday called for Congress to revise a US security law in order to ease restrictions on the government's secret communications surveillance of terror suspects.
Amid furor over Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's handling of the government's secret warrantless wiretap program, Bush urged legislators to pass the update of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) proposed in April.
The changes would ease intelligence collection aimed at people plotting attacks on the United States, Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"Today we face sophisticated terrorists who use disposable cell phones and the Internet to communicate with each other, recruit operatives, and plan attacks on our country," he said.
"Technologies like these were not available when FISA was passed nearly 30 years ago, and FISA has not kept up with new technological developments.
"As a result, our nation is hampered in its ability to gain the vital intelligence we need to keep the American people safe."
Bushed urged lawmakers to work in a bipartisan manner to pass the legislation before leaving for August recess, saying: "Our national security depends on it."
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