Washington D.C. - Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) voted to enact
the FY 2005 Intelligence Authorization Act, H.R. 4548. The
bill will institute many of the recommendations of the 9-11
Commission, creating a Director of National Intelligence,
establishing a strong counterterrorism network and streamlining
communications among the 15 intelligence agencies and other
related branches of the government.
Akin, a member of the House Armed Services
Committee, was a vocal opponent of a previous version of the
measure which would have weakened the traditional chain of command
within our military regarding its use of intelligence. Akin
joined the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, U.S.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), in fighting for a version of the
bill which would uphold the ability of the military to utilize
intelligence information and assets needed by war fighters on
the ground.
"With a son ready to deploy as a Marine officer in Iraq later
this month, I have been concerned with ensuring that our service
personnel on fighting on the ground are not impeded by a remote
layer of bureaucracy in Washington," said Akin. "I applaud
Chairman Hunter for his leadership and his determination to
see that the needs of our men and women in uniform are not
short-changed."
Leading House Republicans held the line
to make sure that our war fighters and national security concerns
were not subjugated to tremendous political and partisan pressure.
"In the end, America's national security maintained top priority
because of a steadfast determination to protect national security
interests in spite of partisan and political pressure," said
Akin
Akin remains concerned that the legislation does not
address border security issues sufficiently, but noted that
the House leadership has promised that these issues will be
covered by additional legislation early next year.
"I am disappointed
that this measure fails to institute needed border security
reforms that were included in the original House version of
the bill," said Akin. "The 19 terrorists who struck on September
11, 2001 were able to obtain 63 U.S. drivers licenses. These
licenses helped the terrorists gain access to what they needed
to conduct the attack and aided the terrorists in remaining
in the U.S. after the expiration of visas.
"True security
reform must deal effectively with issues of border security
and I look forward to working to advancing border reform legislation
when the new Congress convenes in January," Akin concluded.
