Intelligence Bill Passed by Senate
Intelligence Bill Passed by Senate (Charles Babington, WaPo A01)
The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to revamp the structure of the nation’s intelligence community by creating a national intelligence director, a counterterrorism center and other agencies in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The bill calls for the most dramatic changes to the intelligence community in half a century, and would give the new director authority to coordinate the activities and spending of the CIA and several other intelligence agencies throughout the government. It would also declassify the amount of money the government spends on intelligence and would create a civil liberties board to safeguard privacy and civil rights as the government steps up anti-terrorism activities.
The legislation, passed by a 96 to 2 vote, contains many of the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission. But a confrontation looms with the House, whose leaders have drafted a bill with many provisions not in the Senate measure. The vote underscores the influence of the 10-member commission that studied the government’s response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The panel’s report, released in July, became a bestseller and spurred Congress and the White House to rethink an intelligence structure built mainly to address Cold War threats. “This is an historic vote and an historic day,” the bill’s chief sponsors, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), said in a statement.
The only nay votes were cast by Sens. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.), who said Congress was moving too rapidly on so complex a matter.
The Senate bill sharply contrasts with the bill working its way through the House, where the issue has been tightly controlled by GOP leaders. Although senators acclaimed their bipartisan accomplishment, their bill must be reconciled with the one in the House. The House bill, scheduled to reach the floor today or Friday, was written entirely by Republicans and differs in many respects from the Senate bill. It largely tracks the Senate bill in creating an intelligence director and counterterrorism center. But the House measure contains other provisions likely to cause strenuous debate. One, which would boost law-enforcement and immigration-control powers, has been criticized by civil liberties groups and is opposed by some leading senators. One of the most controversial provisions would make it easier for the government to deport foreign suspects to nations where they might be tortured.
The Sept. 11 commission’s chairman and vice chairman — former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean (R) and former representative Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.) — issued a statement calling the Senate bill “a giant step forward in implementing the recommendations of the 9-11 commission. We look forward to House passage of a counterpart measure, a quick [House-Senate] conference and a good bill on the desk of the president later this month.”
I wonder who the two Senators who didn’t bother to vote on this bill were?
Update (1058): OBE’s Matt confirms my suspicions.
Update (1410): Dodd Harris provides the Kerry-Edwards “explanation.”
Update (1423): Kerry: Intel Reform ‘Long Overdue’ (CBS News – July 22, 2004)
Kerry said if he is elected president and Mr. Bush has not acted on the commission’s findings, he will immediately convene an emergency security summit. Members would include congressional leaders from both parties, leaders of agencies that fight terrorism and the Sept. 11 commissioners.
“There are imperatives that we must move on rapidly,” Kerry said.
As long as it’s convenient, of course.
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About James Joyner
[once a Day Round-Up] ce a Day Round-Up Filed under: Blogs — J. Thomas@ 11:39 am
Outside the Beltway wonders which two Senators failed to vote on the Intelligence bill? On the Th [...]
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Every Vote Counts (or not)
James Joyner reports that the Senate approved intelligence reform. Only 98 Senators voted either way and he wonders who was…
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Required Reading
I’m not going to excerpt it – I want you to click on the link and read the whole thing. UPDATE: More required reading. There were only two Senators that missed this vote: The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to revamp…
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Or as long as it doesn’t interfere with a Presidential campaign.
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OMFG!!!!! IT MIGHT NOT HAVE PASSED IF THEY DIDN’T SUSPEND THE FINAL DAYS OF A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TO VOTE ON SOMETHING WITH UNANIMOUS SUPPORT!
I realize partisanship is going to ratchet through the roof in the next few weeks, but two points penalty, silliness. There is no substance in noting that to win a presidential campaign you actually have to, you know, campaign. They unfortunately can’t pretend they have a major address and then just throw out scraps of red meat on national television.
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I look forward to the dependent argument that Bush had a perfect attendence record as governor in 2000.
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(I only harp on this because I think you are, on balance, a not-silly person. If Charles Johnson harps on something stupid, I just figure it’s a day ending in “y,” but I have a good deal faith in you to be sensible through your partisanship)
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carpeicthus,
I’m not making that big a deal out of it–I mostly posted the news story.
I do think this is noteworthy, though. Bush is campaigning, too, but he actually shows up for work once in a while. Sure, the vote was a blow-out and it didn’t make much substantive difference that Kerry and Edwards missed it. But after trying to make political hay out of the fact that Bush didn’t ram this through Congress the first week after the 9/11 Report came out–and calling for emergency sessions and whatnot–one would think they could have flown in for the vote. They are, after all, getting paid to be Senators.
And a vote on a fundamental issue of national security in wartime is hardly the same thing as one’s activity as governor. Although, as I recall, Bush did actually sign/veto legislation, make decisions on death penalty clemency appeals, and the like during his campaign for the presidency in 2000.
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They did the exact same thing with the Federal Marriage Amendment.
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Major Intelligence Bill Passes Senate
The Senate has passed an intelligence bill that has many of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations in it (via OTB). The Washington Post – The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to revamp the structure of the nation’s intelligence community by creat…
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The SENATE voted on changing the Intelligence Community structure & functions.
Odd job for the Legislative to dictate to the Executive how to manage his national defense business.
Also. Is this not how the U.S. Intelligence Community get into such a dark place, in the first place?
Surely, we haven’t forgotten Frank Church, Teddy Kennedy and other LEGISLATORS who hobbled, blinded, starved then finally viscerated the nation’s intelligence capabilities.
Do we really want that same lot trying now to re-attach a retina to eyes they blinded years ago?
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Senate passes Intelligence Reform
On Wednesday, the Senate passed the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. The bill passed with 96 yea votes, 2 nae votes with 2 not voting at all. Any guess on who didn’t vote? I’ll give you a hint. One Senator was from North Carolina and the ot…
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9/11 Intelligence Bill Passes In The Senate
A bill that included a portion of the 9/11 commissions recomendations overwhelmingly passed in the Senate. Here’s the voting results. It passed with a 96 Yea 2 Nay vote with 2 Senators not voting. Can you guess which two didn’t…
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The Clairol Boys and Intelligence
Turns out that’s an oxymoron. Today the Senate voted the most dramatic change to our intelligence services in half a century. The vote was 96-2 in favor of the new framework, based on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Two…
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9/11 Intelligence Bill Passes In The Senate
A bill that included a portion of the 9/11 commissions recomendations overwhelmingly passed in the Senate. Here’s the voting results. It passed with a 96 Yea 2 Nay vote with 2 Senators not voting. Can you guess which two didn’t…
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I agree with the Klansman
As James Joyner notes, the Senate approved 96–2 with two absences (guess who) their version of the 9/11 commission bill. As Charles Babbington’s WaPo piece notes, the only two senators who opposed the measure were Robert Byrd and Fritz Holl…
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Voting on the Intelligence Bill
From Outside the Beltway comes this story: The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to revamp the structure of the nation’s intelligence community by creating a national intelligence director, a counterterrorism center and other agencies in resp…
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