[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 17104]]

                     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.
  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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