WASHINGTON – Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins, R-Me., and Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., announced Friday their intention to move urgently to begin the process of implementing recommendations made by the September 11th Commission. The Senators said they would hold a hearing the first week of August with the goal of producing legislation reorganizing the intelligence community by October 1, as requested by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.
“There is no more critical priority for our country than to strengthen our ability to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist activities,” said Collins. “Senator Lieberman and I are committed to conducting a prompt, thorough, and bipartisan review of the Commission’s recommendations.” “I am eager to begin work immediately to translate the September 11 Commission’s recommendations into legislation,” Lieberman said. “There really is no more urgent task before Congress than to secure the safety of the American people. Senator Collins and I are determined to take on this new challenge in the same spirit of bipartisanship in which the Commission produced its extraordinary work.” Senators Collins and Lieberman said that their first priorities would be to consider major recommendations made by September 11th Commission members, including the creation of a National Counterterrorism Center and a National Intelligence Director position.