Washington, DC - During tonight's State of the Union address, the president stated that life since 9/11 has never been the same for the terrorists. Sad to say, this very much also applies to Americans. We now live in a world permeated with fear. However, while we remain vigilant of potential terrorist threats to our nation, we do not want to sacrifice liberty in the blind pursuit of national security.

The Bush administration has consistently demonstrated its determination to spy on all Americans without probable cause. Innocent Americans' emails, telephone conversations, U.S. mail, financial transactions and travel records are vulnerable to the government's unchecked seizures and have shown no real sign of accountability.

While the White House announced that the president will not reauthorize the "Terrorist Surveillance Program," and that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) will monitor intelligence wiretapping that had been conducted under the NSA program, the operational details remain vague and the facts remain clouded in secrecy.

"At this point," Barr stated, "the White House 'policy shift' is no more than a sleight of hand. It is still unclear whether the government will continue intercepting conversations of Americans. It's still unclear whether the target of surveillance must be a suspected agent of al Qaeda or another terrorist organization.

"In the spirit of bi-partisanship called on tonight by President Bush," Barr continued, "I urge this administration to work with Congress to provide real oversight to the NSA wiretapping program. A congressional review of the programs must take place in order to ensure Americans constitutional rights are not violated. Also, I encourage the administration to share with Congress the documents of new order to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Congress and the American people deserve to know the facts, not more rhetoric and empty promises."

For further information, please visit www.bobbarr.org or contact Taryn Jones at 770.836.1776.

Barr, a former Member of Congress (1995-2003), has served with the U.S. Department of Justice and Central Intelligence Agency. He is a lawyer and currently works with organizations including the American Conservative Union Foundation and the ACLU on issues related to privacy and national security. He serves as Chairman for Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances.