Lawmakers Seek President’s Help to Pass 9/11 Bill

WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders yesterday urged President Bush to spend political capital on getting the House to pass an overhaul of the nation’s intelligence agencies, arguing that unless he does so, there will be no reform approved this year.They hope to bring intelligence reform legislation, which was blocked on Saturday, back in early December for a floor vote, but the leaders said the White House will have to focus much more on getting it passed.“For us to do the bill in early December, it will take significant involvement by the president and the vice president,” said Senate Majority Leader Frist of Tennessee.On Saturday, compromise legislation to overhaul the nation’s intelligence agencies along lines recommended by the September 11 commission was withdrawn by House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who was unsuccessful in efforts to overcome a rebellion by GOP rank and file. The rebellion was led by the Republican chairmen of two committees: Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, chairman of the armed services panel, and Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.White House spokesman Scott Mc-Clellan, who was traveling with Mr. Bush in Chile, said that intelligence reform “remains a high priority for the president…. He will continue to talk to congressional leaders about how to get it done as soon as possible.”Mr. Bush and Vice President Cheney phoned House critics before the legislation was withdrawn, urging them to back down and swing behind the measure.Some lawmakers argue the attempt was too little and too late, and Senator McCain said yesterday that the White House would have been better employed in curbing Pentagon hostility to the legislation, which was a crucial factor in shaping the rebellion.Mr. McCain said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Pentagon obstruction of a measure backed by the president was “one of the more Byzantine kinds of scenarios that I have observed in the years that I have been in Congress.” But the Arizona senator said he still thinks there is an opportunity to get the reform approved.Some other key lawmakers doubted that reform legislation would be approved this year, even if the White House does wield its clout. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas said on Fox News yesterday that the chances Congress will pass the bill in December “are slim and none, and slim left town.”The compromise legislation was agreed to by a House-Senate conference and would have created a national intelligence director to oversee the CIA and several other nonmilitary spy agencies. The legislation would have also given the director control of most of federal intelligence gathering, 80% of which is now controlled by the Pentagon.Mr. Hastert withdrew the legislation when Messrs. Hunter and Sensenbrenner declined to back away from their long-standing objections. Mr. Hunter argued that the overhaul could imperil the military chain of command, and Mr. Sensenbrenner opposed illegal aliens being able to secure driving licenses.Families of September 11 victims were divided in their reaction to the blocking of the legislation. The 9/11 Family Steering Committee said it was “unconscionable” that Messrs. Sensenbrenner and Hunter would stand in the way of the conference agreement.“They remain unapologetic as they pursue an agenda that is contrary to the express wishes of President Bush and Vice President Cheney,” the group said in a statement.The group added: “We believe this legislation will make our country safer by improving communication, collaboration and sharing of critical information within our intelligence community.”But the 9/11 Families for a Secure America praised the rebels for their stand, saying in a statement: “Even though the 108th Congress is at its very end, we urge it to let the bill die until the next Congress rather than further weaken the immigration and border security provisions.”House Democrats said the blocking of the measure was an example of an “intransigent, my-way-or-the-highway approach that infects this House Republican majority.”House Majority Leader Tom DeLay dismissed the charge yesterday. “Our members want us to continue, the speaker wants us to continue to negotiate, and so does the Senate, so we’re going to continue to negotiate and see if we can get a bill in December,” he said.If lawmakers fail to pass legislation before January, then the measure will expire and the 109th Congress will have to start again from scratch. The 108th Congress has had three months of hearings and negotiations over the legislation with the reform drive starting in July, when the September 11 commission released its report on the terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Lawmakers Seek President’s Help to Pass 9/11 Bill

Lawmakers Seek President’s Help to Pass 9/11 Bill

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