FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 08, 2004

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/ Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

Statement on Introduction of 9/11 Commission Recommendations as Legislation

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and 100 House Democrats today introduced the unanimous, bipartisan recommendations of the 9/11 Commission as legislation. Below are Pelosi's remarks:

Mr. Speaker, this week the nation will  mark the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

In addition to mourning the loss of so many lives, it is appropriate to ask:  “Are we as safe as we should be?”  Sadly, two high level inquiries, including the independent 9/11 Commission, have said: “no.” 

• Our rail lines, ports, commercial aircraft, power plants, chemical facilities, and other critical infrastructure components are not as secure as they should be.

• Our first responders are not able to communicate with one another in real time, as they should be.

• Much of the world’s supply of the materials used to build weapons of mass destruction is not secured, as it should be.

• Initiatives in the Department of Homeland Security are not funded adequately by the President and the Republican Congress, as they should be.

The nation’s unmet security needs involve more than insufficient resources.    The systemic governmental failures that opened the door for the terrorists to strike on 9/11 have been repeatedly identified.  But there has been no concerted effort to fix them.

Eighteen months ago, a Joint Inquiry by the congressional intelligence committees produced a bipartisan call for change in the structure of the intelligence community.  Nothing came of it. 

Eight weeks ago, the 9/11 Commission issued a unanimous, bipartisan report recommending change – in the intelligence community and elsewhere – to deal with the terrorist threat.  The Commission coupled its recommendations with a call for urgent action. 

What was the response?   The congressional recess went on, largely undisturbed, even after the threat level for New York and Washington was raised.

There has been too much delay.  Congress must commit itself today to using the time left in this session to enact legislation to address the problems identified so clearly by the Commission and others.  

To focus our efforts, many of my Democratic colleagues have joined me in introducing a bill that translates the Commission’s recommendations into legislative language. 

This bill will give the committees of jurisdiction a framework for considering the proposals on their merits, and reporting them to the House quickly for debate and votes. 

United together, with an unwavering bipartisan commitment to the security of our country, let us make as much progress as we can so that our words of comfort to the victims’ families on September 11 are not diminished by their knowledge of how much critical work remains unfinished.

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi