[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 120 (Friday, September 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H5631-H5632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ACTING RESPONSIBLY AND WISELY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, as President Bush has said, Tuesday's
attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are nothing short of
acts of war. No less than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, they
were a premeditated, secret, and carefully orchestrated assault on the
American people and the great symbols of American power and influence
in world affairs. These attacks will not go unanswered.
Since this dastardly attack, there has been a flurry of efforts in
the House and Senate, proposed legislation, calls for hearings and
oversight to find out what went wrong and what improvements can and
should be made. While this is certainly understandable, any action by
the Congress should not be taken in haste and should be coordinated,
not piecemeal.
The timing of our action is most important for another reason. In a
time of war, the executive branch, and in particular the President,
must be allowed to focus solely on identifying, finding, and punishing
those responsible. I therefore call on my colleagues, Members and
committee chairmen in both the House and the Senate, to refrain from
piecemeal legislation and oversight during this crisis and to support
the President fully in addressing the challenges ahead.
[[Page H5632]]
As chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary and entrusted
with oversight responsibility for all Federal law enforcement, I am
compelled to remind my colleagues the criminal investigation now being
conducted is paramount. From that investigation, we will learn much
about the identity of the perpetrators, the means by which these
attacks were carried out, and even the most effective way to respond.
This is not the time, however, to assess blame, to second guess, or to
appear to do so. It is time to back the President, period.
I have therefore written the President to ask him to identify what
law enforcement and investigative resources, including additional
funding and legal authority, are needed to prosecute this effort. I
have pledged to review those requests on an expedited basis.
I am also concerned about the multiple and duplicative briefings
requested of law enforcement, which may have the unintended
consequences of impeding, impairing, or distracting law enforcement
from its core mission. At the same time, I recognize that Congress
needs to be kept informed on the progress of the investigation.
I suggest, therefore, that there be organized, coordinated, and non-
duplicative briefings that will allow law enforcement to carry on its
critical mandate without undue interference from Congress. I intend to
work with the Speaker, the Attorney General, and the FBI Director to
provide regular law enforcement briefings to Members on the
investigation.
These briefings will provide Members with the information they need
to carry out their constitutional responsibilities without jeopardizing
the criminal investigation. The investigation may very well provide
insight into how the attackers evaded our intelligence and security
networks. There will certainly be ample time for Congress to address
those issues later. I have been informed that we may be assured that
the Federal Government's law enforcement and intelligence officials are
already taking steps to prevent future attacks.
I intend to work with the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert)
to discourage House committees from holding premature hearings in the
middle of a Federal criminal investigation of these attacks. Such
hearings are likely to distract Federal resources from the immediate
needs of a full investigation.
Right now, it should be Congress' priority to support President
Bush's efforts to make an appropriate response. Regular briefings and
restraints will permit Congress to be fully informed about the
developments, provide information for consideration at the appropriate
time, but, most importantly, will allow the President the latitude he
needs to prosecute the campaign against those who carried out these
outrageous attacks on our country and its citizens.
This Congress must rise to the occasion and act responsibly and
wisely. History will judge us favorably from our prudence.
Mr. Speaker, I insert in the Record a letter written by myself;
Senator Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and the ranking
members, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and Senator Hatch,
to the President of the United States.
U.S. Congress,
Washington, DC, September 13, 2001.
Hon. George W. Bush,
President of the United States, The White House, Washington,
DC.
Dear Mr. President: We write regarding the investigation of
the horrific terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11,
2001. This tragedy has resulted in a massive worldwide
investigation that is without question the most important
ever undertaken by the Federal Government. The Department of
Justice has mobilized thousands of federal and state
personnel and is coordinating myriad federal and state
agencies, a task that will utilize tremendous resources. We
commend the efforts of all the men and women of the
Department of Justice and all Federal and state agencies
investigating this horrific event.
We wish to make sure that the Department of Justice, the
FBI, and all Federal law enforcement agencies involved in
this investigation have all the resources and authority
needed to investigate these incidents and would like to know
whether additional resources or legal authorities are needed
to complete this mission successfully. The House and Senate
Judiciary Committees stand ready to review expeditiously any
requests made by the Administration in this regard and to
provide all appropriate resources.
Sincerely,
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.,
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary.
John Conyers, Jr.,
Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on the Judiciary.
Patrick Leahy,
Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
Orrin Hatch,
Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
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