Statement by the Press Secretary

Today the House of Representatives failed to override the President's veto of the Intelligence Authorization Bill. The President believes that he has no higher responsibility than protecting the American people. The President also believes in making sure the Intelligence Community has the tools necessary to protect America from attack. By requiring the Intelligence Community to use only the interrogation methods authorized in the publicly available Army Field Manual, the bill would have eliminated the legal alternative procedures in place in the CIA program to question the world's most dangerous and violent terrorists. The CIA program has produced critical intelligence and helped us prevent a number of attacks. An override of the President's veto would have diminished the Intelligence Community's ability to protect our Nation.