Dianne Feinstein: “I want to go into that. But before I do, I would like particularly to thank the Senator from Florida, the former…”

“I want to go into that. But before I do, I would like particularly to thank the Senator from Florida, the former chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, for his three speeches. I had the privilege of previewing these. I think he delivered them eloquently and forcefully. I want him to know I very much appreciate his careful scholarship and his reasoned approach, which mark not only his remarks here but also his tenure as chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He has presided over what continues to be one of the most difficult chapters in the history of our intelligence community. Senator Lott has just said, with considerable spark, that we should work together. I could not agree more. Second, the committee has been prevented from examining the use of intelligence by policymakers. This I believe is a real problem. Our own resolution sets out that we should be able to examine the use of intelligence by policymakers and administration officials. To a great extent this is the reason we are here today creating an independent commission which will have more authority than the elected officials of this Government have.”