Senate Approves Independent 9/11 Commission

By: Helen Dewar

The Senate voted overwhelmingly today to create an independent commission to conduct a broad inquiry into governmental failures leading up to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, significantly boosting prospects that Congress will set up the panel before it adjourns for the year.

The 90-8 vote, which came less than came less than a week after the Bush administration dropped its opposition to the proposal, reflected a mounting consensus in both parties that the current congressional probe into intelligence failures pointed to the need for a more far-reaching inquiry.

As approved by the Senate, the independent commission would look into problems arising from foreign policy, law enforcement, commercial aviation, financing of terrorist groups, visa procedures, and border control as well as intelligence issues already being investigated by the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Rather than "pointing fingers," an independent commission would "make the government as a whole look in the mirror" to assess its own flaws, said Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT), who cosponsored the proposal with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). The joint intelligence inquiry has led to "disclosures that cry out to us for further investigation" of all areas of government, he added.

"The attacks of Sept. 11 represented more than a failure of intelligence", said McCain. "They highlighted a failure of national policy to respond to the developments of a global terror network, implacably hostile to American interests."

Under the Lieberman-McCain proposal, the top Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress would name a 10-member commission composed of prominent non-government figures, evenly divided between the two major parties. It would be armed with subpoena powers and a $3 million budget and directed to file an initial report within six months and a second report, including recommendations for action, within another 12 months.

The proposal, originally offered in December but sidetracked by administration opposition and misgivings among many Republicans, was approved as an amendment to legislation that would create a Department of Homeland Security, which the administration has made a top priority for action by Congress this year.

As part of its intelligence authorization bill for next year, the House earlier this year approved a narrower version limited to examining only intelligence issues. But Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN), sponsor of the House proposal, said today in an interview that action on the issue by both houses "bodes well" for congressional approval of the commission this year. A compromise could be approved as part of either the intelligence or homeland security bills, he noted.

President Bush opposed creation of an independent commission until last week, arguing that it could lead to leaks and tie up officials needed in running the government's anti-terrorism efforts. But support for the proposal gradually gained ground, partly as a result of pressure from families of the Sept. 11 victims. Recent disclosures of further intelligence failures by the joint intelligence committees added to the momentum, as did support from the bipartisan leaders of the Senate intelligence panel for an independent commission.

With Lieberman and McCain poised to force a vote this week, Nicholas E. Calio, Bush's congressional liaison official, wrote congressional leaders last Friday to say the White House was prepared to support creation of the commission now that the intelligence committees' work is winding down. He cited a number of non-intelligence areas that might be explored, such as aviation, border security, and visas, and said: "A focused inquiry into these matters will help strengthen our ability to prevent and defend against terrorism and protect the security of the American public."

Few were stronger in their advocacy of the independent probe than Sen. Richard C. Shelby (AL), ranking Republican on the Senate intelligence committee. In brief comments before yesterday's vote, he said time was running out on the congressional probe and a broader inquiry was warranted. "We now know our inability to detect and prevent the Sept. 11 attacks was not only an intelligence failure of unprecedented magnitude. I believe it was a failure of our entire government to protect and defend the American people."

While no one spoke out against the proposal today, Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) said Monday he opposed it on several grounds, including the lack of a presidential role in making appointments, cost and the fact that many other such commissions have been created, only to have their findings ignored.

All eight dissenters in this afternoon's votes were Republicans. All Virginia and Maryland senators voted to create the commission.