Washington ? A powerful senator’s plan to break up the CIA and rearrange the Pentagon’s spy agencies under a single national intelligence director is “very bold” and wasn’t considered by the 9-11 commission because members saw it as too difficult, the commission’s vice chairman said Tuesday.

“Maybe the question is how much change can the system tolerate,” former Rep. Lee Hamilton told senators.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate announced they would push for adoption of all the 9-11 commission’s recommendations for revamping the intelligence community as a means to deter terrorist attacks.

“This bill would enact bold and comprehensive reform that changes the status quo, because the status quo in intelligence and diplomacy has failed us,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who introduced the 280-page legislation along with Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Reps. Chris Shays, R-Conn., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., will introduce a House version.

However, Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., wants Congress instead to transfer the nation’s major intelligence gathering from the CIA and the Pentagon to control by a new national intelligence director, a plan he himself said Tuesday “has been deemed by some as radical and others as bold — not as many ‘bold’ as ‘radical.”‘

But Hamilton did not reject the idea when asked about it at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, calling the idea “a very bold move. It’s a lot bolder than we made.”

The commission wanted “achievable and pragmatic” goals, and didn’t consider change on the scope that Roberts did, Hamilton said.

“We just didn’t look at it that boldly,” Hamilton said.

9-11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean, left, and commissioner John Lehman testify Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee Open Hearing on 9/11 Commission Recommendations on Capitol Hill.

Congress is working on several different bills inspired by the 9-11 commission, making it unlikely that it will just accept legislation based strictly on the commission report.

Senate Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and her committee are drafting legislation that Lieberman, the committee’s ranking Democrat, predicted would be ready for a committee vote in two weeks.

The House also has broken up the 9-11 commission recommendations into different parts, with several committees working on their own legislation.

“This legislation, the McCain-Lieberman Bill, though, is the legislation that represents the commission’s work,” Lieberman said. “And we wanted to make sure it’s on the table and it’s part of that debate. “

Senate leaders say they want something done before Congress leaves town again, now expected Oct 1.

“We need to put security first,” said Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. “I don’t think the Senate should be allowed to leave town until we have acted on all 41 of these recommendations.”