Washington, DC – Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) met today with a group of family members of 9/11 attack victims. The 9/11 families held meetings on Capitol Hill and at the White House to urge lawmakers to finalize and pass legislation to reform the nation’s intelligence community before the November elections.
“The families remind us why we are doing this and why it is so important. We must pass real and comprehensive intelligence reform in order to make Americans safer, particularly against terrorist attacks,” said Senators Collins and Lieberman in a joint statement. “Our country is currently operating under an increased terror alert warning. We must respond with an equal sense of urgency to ensure that our intelligence agencies are organized and equipped to best respond to current and future threats.”
The 9/11 family members thanked Senators Collins and Lieberman for their work in writing and passing bipartisan intelligence reform legislation in the Senate. The families urged House members to agree to legislation similar to the Collins-Lieberman National Intelligence Reform Act, which the Senate passed last week by a vote of 96 to 2. The House has passed its own version of the bill and differences between the two must now be resolved by Senate and House negotiators. Senators Collins and Lieberman are among the members who will participate in the intelligence reform negotiations.
Senators Collins and Lieberman have expressed their desire to have Congress approve a final bill and send it to the President’s desk as soon as possible.