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White House, Lawmakers Indicate Quick Action on Sept. 11 Commission Recommendations By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — Both the White House and the U.S. Congress have recently indicated that they plan to move quickly on intelligence-reform measures and other recommendations included in a report released last week by the Sept. 11 commission (see GSN, July 23). The commission called for sweeping changes to the structure of the U.S. intelligence community, including the creation of a national director of intelligence and the creation of a National Counterterrorism Center, and for changes in how Congress oversees the intelligence community. The commission also issued a number of recommendations regarding the war on terrorism and homeland security efforts. White House officials announced Friday that President George W. Bush directed White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card to lead a Cabinet-level task force to determine how many of the commission’s recommendations could be implemented by executive order, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times today quoted a White House official as saying that Bush could act “within days” on some of the commission’s recommendations. In a letter sent Saturday to the chairman and vice chairman of the commission, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote that Bush could implement at least half of the commission’s recommendations without congressional action. Kerry is expected this week to accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination for the 2004 election. While saying he would examine the commission’s recommendations, Bush also warned the public Saturday that there is no such thing as “perfect security.” “No matter how good our defenses are, a determined enemy can still strike us. Yet all Americans can be certain our government is using every resource and technological advantage we have to prevent future attacks,” Bush said in a national radio address. In Congress, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), the committee’s top Democrat, announced plans Friday to hold committee hearings on the commission’s recommendations next month, while most of Congress is in recess. The two senators said hearings would begin during the first week of August on the creation of a national director of intelligence and a National Counterterrorism Center with the aim of preparing legislation by Oct. 1. “So no longer is it going to be a sleepy, quiet August around here,” Collins said. Both senators said that they did not know of a time previously when hearings were held in August. Collins and Lieberman said they hoped Congress would take action on any proposed legislation before the end of the year, even if a “lame-duck” session is needed after the November elections. “Why would we waste two or three months, then start the process in January —months during which the vulnerabilities that the commission laid out yesterday would remain? It just doesn’t make sense,” Lieberman said. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is also set to hold hearings on the commission’s recommendations over the summer recess, reports indicate. Earlier this month, the Senate intelligence panel released a report that was highly critical of the U.S. intelligence community’s performance regarding prewar Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. In addition, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) announced last week that a special Senate working group would be created to examine the commission’s recommendations for changes in how the Senate oversees the intelligence community. The working group is expected to complete its efforts and prepare recommendations by Oct. 1. In the House of Representatives, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas) announced Friday that all “appropriate committees” have been asked to begin holding hearings on the commission’s recommendations next month with the aim of reporting legislation proposals in September. A spokeswoman for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said today that the committee plans to conduct hearings next month on the commission’s recommendations. No dates for those hearings have yet been set. There are no plans as of yet, though, to convene in the House a working group similar to the one planned in the Senate to examine the commission’s recommendations for changes in congressional oversight, a Hastert spokesman said today. He added that both Hastert and DeLay have “the utmost respect” in the House committee chairmen’s ability to move forward “expeditiously” on the recommendations. Collins and Lieberman said Friday that they hoped their committee’s plans to hold hearings next month would help pressure the House to quickly act. “We know that our country is at increased risk, even as we speak, of another terrorist attack. We have a commission that has laid an excellent foundation for strengthening our capabilities. How can we not act? We must act,” Collins said. Sept. 11 Commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton said Sunday that it was important for both the president and Congress to move quickly on the commission’s recommendations. “This is really important for the American people. Get your house in order. Act on these things as quickly as you possibly can. And every day that passes is a day of increased risk if we do not make changes,” Hamilton said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
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