Washington (CNN)New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stressed Monday the need for increased funding and support to beef up the U.S.'s intelligence capabilities to prevent terror attacks, putting it this way: "You can't enjoy your civil liberties if you're in a coffin."
Christie's comments came as lawmakers on Capitol Hill are raising civil liberties and national security concerns as provisions of the Patriot Act authorizing bulk data collection on millions of Americans are set to expire at the end of the month.
And Christie, who is considering running for the Republican presidential nomination, is clearly aligned with the national security hawks loathe to lose any intelligence tools.
"We have taken for granted, everybody, nearly 14 years of not attack in this country on a major scale. And we should not take that for granted," Christie told an audience at a town hall forum in New Hampshire. "The thing that's demoralizing to me is that there are I think so many sectors in our country who haven't forgotten 9/11. Everyone will remember 9/11, but have forgotten what 9/11 felt like."
And while "all these people are talking about liberty," Christie said the 9/11 terror attacks truly stole Americans' liberty.
"We acted differently, we conducted our lives differently. We were reticent. We were scared to do things as a people. That's a stealing of our liberty too," Christie said.
Reform proponents -- including GOP presidential candidates Sens. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas who have called for an end to the NSA's dragnet surveillance -- have cited civil liberties concerns when it comes to the NSA's bulk data collection program, arguing that the practice violates the Fourth Amendment.
And a federal court earlier this month ruled that NSA program illegal.
"There are going to be some who are going come before you and going to say oh no, no this is not what the founders intended. the founders made sure that the first obligation of the American government was to protect the lives of the American people," Christie said. And we can do this in a way that is smart and cost effective and protects civil liberties."
And he added, "You can't enjoy your civil liberties if you're in a coffin."
Several review groups have concluded that the NSA's bulk data collection program was not essential to preventing any terror attacks, despite claims from some in the intelligence community that the program is an important tool to combat terrorism.
Christie's stance is just another sign of a split Republican party on this issue, especially in the fray of current and potential Republican presidential candidates.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a still-unannounced presidential candidate, has called the continuation of NSA surveillance the "best part of the Obama administration."Fellow Floridian Sen. Marco Rubio, who announced his candidacy last month, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who will formally announce his candidacy next month, have both called for the Patriot Act to be reauthorized this month.
Photos: Chris Christie's career in photos
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, joined by his family, announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on June 30 at Livingston High School in Livingston Township, New Jersey.
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Christie takes questions from Bruce Rastetter at the Iowa Ag Summit on March 7 in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Christie jokes with host Laura Ingraham as he addresses the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor, Maryland, on February 26.
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Christie campaigns for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker during a campaign stop at the GOP field office in Hudson, Wisconsin, on September 29, 2014.
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Photos: Chris Christie's career in photos
Christie enters the Borough Hall in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on January 9, 2014, to apologize to Mayor Mark Sokolich for the George Washington Bridge lane closures -- a scandal that became known in the media as "Bridgegate."
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Photos: Chris Christie's career in photos
Christie speaks at a news conference on January 9, 2014, in Trenton, New Jersey, about his knowledge of an alleged traffic study that stopped traffic at the George Washington Bridge. Christie addressed allegations that his deputy chief of staff signaled for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge to punish the Fort Lee mayor for not endorsing Christie during the election.
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Christie arrives to speak at his election night event after winning a second term as governor on November 5, 2013, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Christie defeated his Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, by a large margin.
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Christie talks to business owners affected by a massive fire that burned a large portion of the Seaside Park boardwalk, which had recently been rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy, on September 14, 2013, in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
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Christie speaks to members of the Hudson County Building Trades Council after receiving their support for his re-election campaign for governor on July 1, 2013, in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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Christie greets President Barack Obama on his arrival in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on October 31, 2012, to visit areas hit by Superstorm Sandy. Christie was later criticized by some in his party for his warm welcome of Obama.
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Christie updates members of the media on damage and recovery efforts related to Superstorm Sandy on October 30, 2012, from the emergency operations center at State Police Headquarters in Ewing, New Jersey.
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Christie and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speak with Romney adviser Bob White on board the Romney campaign bus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on October 10, 2012.
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Christie takes the stage to deliver the keynote address at the Republican National Convention on August 28, 2012, in Tampa, Florida.
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Christie speaks as he endorses former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination on October 11, 2011, in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
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Christie and his family lay white roses on wreckage pulled from Ground Zero during the dedication of the Empty Sky Memorial for 9/11 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 10, 2011.
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Christie speaks at a Reform Agenda Town Hall meeting at the New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company facility on March 29, 2011, in Hammonton, New Jersey.
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Christie, his wife, Mary Pat Christie, and their children attend the third annual New Jersey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Newark, New Jersey, on May 2, 2010.
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Christie waves to supporters with Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno, left, on November 3, 2009, in Parsippany, New Jersey. Christie defeated incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine.
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Christie and his running mate, Kim Guadagno, left, pose for photographs after making phone calls to voters at Monmouth County Republican Headquarters in Freehold, New Jersey, on November 2, 2009.
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Photos: Chris Christie's career in photos
Before getting into politics, Christie was a New Jersey attorney. Here Christie speaks with the media on May 8, 2007, outside the federal courthouse in Camden, New Jersey, after six men were arrested on charges of planning to attack the Fort Dix military base.
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Christie speaks to the media about an FBI sting with Russian Gen. Sergei Fomenko, right, of the Federal Security Service and FBI Agent Louie Allen on August 13, 2003, in Newark, New Jersey.
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