*EPF405 09/09/2004
Bush, Congress Respond to 9/11 Commission Report Recommendations
(Report drives new Presidential directives, Congressional legislation) (740)

Washington -- President Bush and Congress are each launching initiatives aimed at extensive overhaul of the U.S. intelligence agencies in line with recommendations made in July by the independent 9/11 Commission. These new efforts will build on numerous other steps the U.S. government has taken in the past three years -- such as the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Terrorist Screening Center, and the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) -- to transform itself to better respond to the heightened threat of terrorist attack in the 21st century.

On August 27, the president issued orders to enhance the powers of the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and to create a new National Counterterrorism Center, which could eventually subsume TTIC. The order to expand the CIA director's authority is viewed as an interim step until Congress passes legislation to establish a new National Intelligence Director with a supporting agency, which requires more exhaustive legislation.

Following some two dozen hearings called by various committees in the Senate and House of Representatives in August, Congress is now moving to draft and pass legislation to implement some or all of the 41 recommendations proposed by the 9/11 Commission, whose formal title is the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

In addition to formal legislation, the Senate has begun the process of studying how it might revamp its procedures for oversight of the intelligence agencies and homeland security. The House of Representatives has not taken that step.

Also at issue is the authority to reorganize government. Two committees in Congress -- the House Government Reform Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee -- are authorized to create legislation to reorganize government, which means most bills would have to pass through these committees before being considered by the full House and Senate.

Compounding the challenge of the overhaul efforts is the impact of this fall's Presidential and Congressional elections. The entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate are facing re-election. Adjournment for this legislative year is scheduled for October 1, but it appears Congress will remain in session until mid-October and possibly return for a post-election session after November 2.

Congressional leaders are indicating they expect to meet the challenge. "It will be all 9/11, all the time," says Bob Stevenson, spokesman for Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Senate Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins said, "Ultimately, we're going to draft and approve a bill."

The final report of the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks recommended a major restructuring of the U.S. intelligence community and included a critical review of actions by the White House, the Congress, and other elements of the U.S. government.

The bipartisan, 10-member commission unanimously endorsed the 575-page report released July 22. The commission's report, based on a 20-month investigation, follows two other reports by the House and Senate intelligence committees that identified shortcomings by the intelligence agencies for failing to detect, thwart, and better respond to the deadly aircraft hijackings that resulted in the tragedies in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

"The 9/11 attacks were a shock, but should not have come as a surprise. By September 2001, the executive branch of the U.S. government, the Congress, the news media, and the American public had received clear warning that Islamist terrorists meant to kill Americans in high numbers," 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean said with release of the report.

Commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton said that the first phase of the government's post-9/11 response correctly included military action to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan and pursue al-Qaida connections around the globe.

"But long-term success demands the use of all elements of national power: diplomacy, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, public diplomacy, and homeland defense. If we favor one tool while neglecting others, we leave ourselves vulnerable and weaken our national effort," the former chairman of the House International Relations Committee said.

The 9/11 Commission report contains 41 recommendations as part of a three-dimensional strategy: attack terrorists and their organizations; prevent the continued growth of Islamic terrorism; and protect against and prepare for future terrorist attacks.

The full text of the 9/11 Commission report may be viewed in PDF format on the Web at:
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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