[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S8641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         9/11 COMMISSION REPORT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Senator Daschle and I received the 9/11 
Commission report earlier today. It looks as if the Commission did a 
thorough job and that their writeup is fair and balanced. It is 
certainly well-documented.
  Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton deserve our praise for their bipartisan 
leadership.
  The Commission did not play the blame game. Rather, they focused on 
how the United States can learn from past mistakes to make all 
Americans safer in the future.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I join with the distinguished majority 
leader in expressing my gratitude to Commissioner Chairman Thomas Kean 
and Vice Chairman Hamilton and the rest of the Commissioners as well. 
They were able to operate above partisan differences and produce a 
unanimous report in an incredibly charged political environment. The 
Commission has painstakingly outlined the numerous missed opportunities 
to prevent the tragic events of September 11 and provided the Bush 
administration and the Congress with a solid set of recommendations 
that I believe, if enacted, can help make us more secure.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we do want to assure everyone that while 
mistakes, failures, and missed opportunities occurred in the past, as 
their report chronicles, the United States still has a very good system 
to protect the country.
  There are thousands of dedicated Americans in the military, the 
intelligence community, law enforcement, and so on who endeavor every 
day to keep us safe. They deserve our appreciation and support.
  But we can and must do better. We have to get it right 100 percent of 
the time.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, the Commission divided its 
recommendations into two major categories. The first lays out a new 
global strategy for dealing with the threats we face today. This 
section contains 28 recommendations on what our Government should do to 
enhance our national security.
  The second section contains 13 suggestions for how our Government--
executive branch as well as Congress--should be reconfigured to 
increase our prospects for achieving our national security objectives.
  Senator Frist and I intend to work together with our colleagues in a 
bipartisan manner to examine all of the Commission's proposals. We both 
agree change is long overdue, and we cannot afford to let another 
opportunity to make these changes slip by.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the threat of terrorism will be with us for 
a long time. We need to fix the problems and correct the shortcomings 
cited by the Commission so that we can make America safer.
  That is why Senator Daschle and I intend to ask the Government 
Affairs Committee, in close consultation with other committees with a 
stake in these changes, to carefully evaluate the Commission's 
proposals regarding reorganization of the executive branch and 
determine how best to implement them. It is our hope that the 
Government Affairs Committee shall begin conducting hearings on these 
issues as soon as possible.
  It is also our expectation that the other committees with an interest 
in this legislation will conduct their own hearings. It is also our 
hope that the Government Affairs Committee, working closely with the 
other interested committees, will carefully evaluate each of the 
Commission's proposals and factor in their views before coming forward 
with a legislative package. No committee shall lose its rights to 
review parts of the legislation under its jurisdiction. It is our hope 
this package will be assembled and presented to the Senate no later 
than October 1.

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, Senator Frist and I have also agreed to 
set up a working group that examines how best to implement the 9/11 
Commission's recommendations that deal with reform of the Senate, such 
as improving intelligence oversight.
  Over the coming days we will meet to discuss how best to organize and 
focus this group.
  Our intent would be for this group to similarly present a plan of 
action by October 1 on how to implement the recommendations made by the 
Commission that deal with the Congress.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in closing, the Democratic leader and I 
agree that the Commission has come forward with important 
recommendations that deserve urgent consideration by this body. We are 
hopeful that the process we outlined above will give them the 
bipartisan attention they deserve and the American people expect.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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