WASHINGTON, DC– Senator Susan Collins, who is leading Senate conferees in negotiations with the House on the National Intelligence Reform Act, met earlier today in Bangor, Maine with House Speaker Dennis Hastert to discuss the status of negotiations. Over the weekend, House negotiators submitted a proposal, which was deemed unacceptable by Senate negotiators and did not meet the 9/11 Commission recommendations. The Senate negotiators subsequently submitted a counterproposal and are awaiting the House’s reply.
Following today’s meeting, Senator Collins released the following statement:
“I appreciate the opportunity to meet with Speaker Hastert earlier today. He and I had a good conversation this morning. We are at a critical stage of negotiations, and quickly completing this legislation is a goal we share.
“Many significant issues remain to be resolved, but we will continue working toward an agreement.”
Senator Collins plans to meet later today with the other lead negotiators, Senator Lieberman, Congressman Pete Hoekstra and Congresswoman Jane Harman.