Washington ? Even faced with terrorism threats, the nation’s intelligence agencies “still stubbornly refuse to adequately share information,” Sen. Pat Roberts said Wednesday.

Roberts, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, said that was the gist of a “very troubling,” closed-door briefing his panel received last week.

He made the point in arguing that the Senate’s sweeping intelligence reform bill was too weak because it wouldn’t give enough power to a new national intelligence director.

“Even on matters related to the terrorist threat to our homeland, the intelligence agencies still stubbornly refuse to adequately share information,” Roberts said.

“Why are these agencies still not sharing?” the Kansas Republican said in a speech on the Senate floor. “They don’t share because they work for 15 different bosses, and no one holds them accountable for not sharing.

“The national intelligence director can cajole, plead and consult all he wants,” Roberts said. “But without a national intelligence director with direct control, there will be no one to force adequate information sharing within the intelligence community.”

The Senate was debating an amendment by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to give a new director authority over daily operations of the 15 different U.S. intelligence agencies. Roberts supported the amendment, but it failed 78-19.

The Senate measure would give a new intelligence director budget authority over intelligence-gathering, but it would leave the military tactical intelligence agencies under Pentagon control.

“We do not want to sever the link between these agencies and the secretary of defense,” said Senate Governmental Affairs chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is overseeing the reform in the Senate.

Roberts has proposed perhaps the most far-reaching reforms, with his idea to break up the CIA and remove several intelligence agencies from the Pentagon. But that plan has met with opposition.

Leaders in both the House and Senate want to finish work on their intelligence reform bills before the November elections.