Intelligence Reform Bills

The House and Senate are expected to pass separate intelligence reform bills this week, but differences between the two could stop the legislation from reaching the president's desk before Election Day.

Intelligence Bill Passed by Senate (Washington Post, Oct. 7)

Washington Post staff writer Charles Babington took questions on the House and Senate's differing approaches to reforming the U.S. intelligence community.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Charles Babington: Hello. The Senate yesterday passed its version of a 9/11 bill, 96-2. Today the House begins debate on its version -- which differs in many ways from the Senate bill. The House will finish either tonight or tomorrow. Then the hardest part will start: House-Senate negotiators will try to reconcile the bills' differences in a conference committee. So, there's still a lot that is unknown, but I'll try to address your questions and comments as best I can.

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Lakeland, Fla.: I'm certainly no expert, but I'm sure our intelligence community needs major improvements. However, hastily devised bills in the heat of a contentious presidential campaign seems to me to be careless and irresponsible in the extreme. Are there any cool and sober heads in Congress who can slow down this process so we don't make mistakes that will make us even more vulnerable?

Charles Babington: Several prominent lawmakers have expressed similar thoughts. They include Sen. Robert Byrd of W.Va. (who voted against the Senate bill) and Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska (who voted for it).
Leaders of both houses, however, have said the urgency of fighting terrorism requires prompt action, i.e. before the year is out. They note that 9-11 was more than three years ago, and they say the nation has done enough studying and analyzing to make good reforms now. That certainly is the position of the 10-member Sept. 11 commission, which is the group that got the whole legislative action moving.

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Virginia: Who were the two Senators that failed to vote for the bill and what was their reasoning behind it?

Charles Babington: Sens. Byrd and Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) voted nay. They argue, among other things, that an overhaul of this magnitude needs more time and debate.

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New York, N.Y.: What is the likelihood of a bill reaching the president's desk before the election? It seems rather unlikely, but there seems to be some very optimistic people in both houses and on both sides of the isle that talk ask if it will happen.

Charles Babington: You've asked the big question, and opinion is very divided on Capitol Hill. One school of thought says the differences between the House and Senate are too huge to be resolved under the deadline pressure of a pending presidential election. The other school says there is too much public pressure for reform (in the name of making America safer) for lawmakers to face voters without having done something. A lot of compromising will have to take place if a bill is to reach the president's desk before Nov. 2.

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Alexandria, Va.: Where there competing bills in the Senate to the Collins-Lieberman bill?

Charles Babington: Yes. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) , chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, introduced a bill several weeks ago that essentially would have dismantled the CIA, among other things. It did not get a lot of support. Similarly, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill that supposedly embraced every recommendation in the Sept. 11 Commission report. It too fell by the wayside, although several of its components got into the Collins-Lieberman bill by way of amendments.
When the Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders assigned the Gov't Affairs Committee to spearhead the assembling of a bipartisan bill, it quickly became the vehicle with momentum. That's the Collins-Lieberman bill

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Atlanta, Ga.: I realize this is slightly off topic, but since you seem to cover a great deal of what goes on in Congress… How likely do you see the 2004 election shifting control in either the Senate or House? Do you foresee any major shakeups as far as Senators or well known Congressmen that may not be reelected? (Tom Daschle comes to mind).

Charles Babington: I think it's highly unlikely the Democrats can wrest control of the House from Republicans. They have a slightly better chance in the Senate, but they would have to win all but a couple of the eight truly competitive races to do so, and that's a tall order. As you suggest, Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is the most prominent senator facing a tough reelection (the Republican is former Rep. John Thune). That race will go to the wire.

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Tucson, Ariz.: My read of the legislation is that actual design of the technologies that will support the implementation are being legislated. Won't that quash innovation from the private sector? With programs like TIA, MATRIX and CAPPS II being killed, crippled or stalled over privacy and legal concerns, and being awarded through sole source contracts,wouldn't we be better off just putting better and more open procurement policies in place to ensure that the best ideas are considered and implemented?

Charles Babington: I have tried to read the entire House and Senate bills (as well as various synopses), but each is many hundreds of pages, so I'm sure I've missed things. Can you cite a section number, or page number, that describes how the design of technologies is "being legislated''? I'm not familiar with that. thanks

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Clifton, Va.: Does anyone on the Hill or elsewhere believe that changes proposed for Intellcommunity will have any effect in the near term? Please get real! One of the suggestions is to centralize clearance adjudications at one agency. Lets see, first you need every agency where a clearance is required to agree to the type and scope of investigations, then you need a one set of adjudication guidelines. What about DOD contractors who have more rights under due process the than DOD employees military and civilian? I work in this field and it will take at least 3 years to resolve the outstanding issues. And 5 years to start reducing the backlog. And I will bet a years salary that the CIA, NRO and NSA find a way to separate themselves out. Not everyone who has TS/SCI needs a worthless lifestyle policy.

Charles Babington: Thanks for your comments.

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Washington, D.C.: Can you explain exactly what happens in a committee meeting? Do the Senators and Congressmen get to vote again on the bill that comes out of such a meeting?

Charles Babington: I assume you mean a "conference committee," which is the forum for resolving differences in House and Senate bills so that a single version can reach the president's desk. A conference committee is very different from a standing committee (appropriations, commerce, etc.). Each one has a handful of senators and House members appointed by the leaders. They typically meet in private, and lots of horse-trading can take place. It's not unusual for provisions that were in neither the House nor senate bill to get slipped into the legislation in a conference committee. If the conferees can reach an accord, yes, the final bill comes back to the House and Senate floors for a final vote. Those votes tend to be a quick up-or-down question with little debate.

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Arlington, Va.: Do the two bills outwardly differ on anything? Or are we talking about a few things the Senate bill omits that the House wants in there?

Charles Babington: The bills differ in numerous ways. The Senate bill, for example, would declassify the amount the nation spends on intelligence operations, and it would create a civil liberties board to safeguard privacy and civil rights. The House bill lacks this provisions. On the other hand, the House bill has many pages of provisions the Senate bill lacks. They include measures that would make it easier to track or deport foreign suspects.

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Minneapolis, Minn.: Does the fact that two New England moderates are the co-sponsors of the bill reflect a kind of general sense in the Senate that the bill is "trustworthy" in terms of what it will do? If so, do you think that says something broader about Congress and the current polarization?

Charles Babington: No. Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman just happen to be the chairman and ranking Democrat of the committee (government affairs) assigned to craft a bill.

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Charles Babington: We need to wrap up a bit early today, because the House and Senate are in full throttle and I've gotta do my day job. Thanks for the chat.

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