Democrats to tackle remaining 9/11 reforms

? House Democrats unveiled legislation Monday aimed at implementing many of the remaining reforms suggested by the Sept. 11 commission, including calls for more thorough cargo screening, better emergency communications and more money for cities at the highest risk of terrorist attack.

Democratic leaders plan to push through votes this week on a long list of 9/11-related reforms that were considered but rejected by the previous Republican-controlled Congress. The proposals signal an early willingness on the part of House Democrats to put pressure on their colleagues in the Senate, where lawmakers from both parties are cooler to some of the ideas and where no similar package of legislation has been proposed.

Democrats say the House proposals would implement nearly all the remaining reforms recommended in 2004 by the bipartisan commission on the 2001 attacks, ranging from ways to beef up funding and training for first responders to calls to rewrite many U.S. policies toward controlling weapons of mass destruction and nuclear proliferation.

Lee Hamilton, the former Indiana Democratic congressman who served as vice chairman of the commission, estimated that the previous Congress had enacted about half the commission’s recommendations, including creating a director to oversee the federal government’s intelligence agencies. He said the “American people will be safer” if the remaining proposals make it into law.

“It carries out the recommendations that we have made,” Hamilton said at a news conference Monday with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats. “And if this bill is enacted, then almost all of the recommendations of the commission will have been put into law.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said the reforms would, among other things, result in “100 percent” screening of air cargo, baggage and major ports cargo within four years.

Global, domestic measures

The legislation calls for establishment of a new presidential office to coordinate prevention of weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism. Supporters of the measure described it as necessary to direct activities and budgets on an issue that is now spread among numerous departments and agencies. The bill also would create an outside commission to monitor government nonproliferation initiatives.

The Sept. 11 commission gave the administration a grade of D in following up on its general recommendations to strengthen efforts to prevent the development and spread of WMD. The Democratic legislation proposes a wide range of initiatives to expand the scope of international cooperation and sanctions for those countries that fail to cooperate.

Noting that the commission called for a significant expansion of resources for international broadcasting and promotion of democracy, the bill calls for a “surge capacity” of additional funding “to support United States foreign policy objectives during a crisis abroad.”

Congress’s ability to push for change in these areas is limited.

“When you start on the domestic side, Congress has a lot more room to act,” said Andrew Grotto, a nonproliferation expert at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. “On public diplomacy and the proliferation elements, Congress’ role starts to shift from direct action to more oversight and to funding.”

GOP criticism

Minority Republicans on the committee offered immediate criticism of the package, arguing that Democrats had failed to follow through on promises to enact all of the remaining commission recommendations. They complained that Democrats were limiting debate, and that many Democrats had opposed the changes they now were advocating.

Ranking Republican member Peter King of New York, whom Thompson replaced, called it a “missed opportunity.”

The Sept. 11 commission report focused heavily on reorganizing the U.S. intelligence community and congressional oversight, on the global dimension of terrorism in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Domestic recommendations focused on border security, transportation security, and protection of critical infrastructure.