As a member of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, I understand that America’s intelligence system is basically a mechanism for saving lives by preventing attacks. So, it’s clear our intelligence system failed us prior to 9/11 and afterward, including some prewar intelligence regarding Iraq. For years Congress didn’t adequately fund our intelligence-gathering apparatus, and, in turn, our intelligence services themselves failed - relying too much on technology rather than trained people. We don’t have the number of skilled agents, proficient linguists and analysts that we need. Nor have we had a single leader in our intelligence community coordinating the dozens of intelligence operations America has. The National Intelligence Reform Act, now before the Senate, proposes three basic ways to correct our intelligence deficiencies and save innocent lives, all based on the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.

Better Leadership: First, the proposal calls for a National Intelligence Director. For the first time, a National Intelligence Director would manage the country’s intelligence gathering and serve as the President’s chief intelligence advisor. This director will have budgetary and personnel authority, as well as be able, in consultation with the Defense Department, to direct or redirect some resources among our intelligence agencies when they are needed. No longer will agencies battle with one another over resources, wasting valuable time and energy with "in-house" political issues.

The confirmation of former Florida Congressman and, more importantly, former CIA agent, Porter Goss as CIA Director will prove to be another leadership improvement. Porter Goss has the practical, hands-on experience to reform the CIA and significantly improve the agency’s human intelligence capability.

More Coordination: Second, it establishes a "National Intelligence Program." NIP’s budget would include the CIA and several other non-military intelligence operations. This additional coordination will help direct valuable intelligence resources toward domestic homeland security efforts, which have taken center stage since 9/11.

Information Sharing: This plan also calls for the creation of a National Counter Terrorism Center that would coordinate joint operational planning among our intelligence agencies, enhancing communication and ensuring that agencies are not duplicating each other. Additionally it creates a Classification Review Board that will provide a check and balance regarding the type of information being classified. This will help Congress, too, by clarifying the way information is classified. Sometimes intelligence information is kept away, even from members of Congress, by a very dubious and whimsical classification process. This Board will ensure that, if at all possible, material be made available to those who need it. Additionally, the bill calls for the establishment of an information-sharing network, specifically to distribute information about terrorist threats through the appropriate federal, state and local agencies, as well as the private sector when applicable.

Though the Senate has failed to address pressing concerns this year like energy, highways and health care, the Senate, so far, has conducted the debate over national intelligence reform in a very constructive, progressive and matter-of-fact way. It must remain so, because good intelligence is about saving lives and preventing attacks. With terrorists trying their best to acquire nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to kill Americans, Congress must stay the bipartisan course with intelligence reform. Election year or no election year, terrorists are always plotting. The minute we fail to anticipate and counter their plots is the first minute of another 9/11 or much, much worse.