Louise Slaughter: “could the attacks of September 11 have been prevented if someone had connected the dots? Could the war in Iraq have been…”

“could the attacks of September 11 have been prevented if someone had connected the dots? Could the war in Iraq have been avoided if intelligence had been better? I honestly do not know. But what both situations tragically highlight is one fundamental truth: Our Nation needs intelligence reform. The September 11 Commission report released over 5 months ago outlined the gaps and weaknesses in our current intelligence system. It also made 41 recommendations to Congress that, if implemented, would make America safer. Today the House at long last is poised to consider the conference report to S. 2845, the National Intelligence Reform Act. This measure seeks to implement the core intelligence reforms recommended by the 9/ 11 Commission and makes significant improvements to emergency preparedness and aviation and border security. Since July, Governor Kean and Representative Hamilton have tirelessly worked to ensure their recommendations are not relegated to the circular file of history. Throughout the summer, they testified before congressional committee after congressional committee in the hopes of building momentum before the third anniversary of the attacks. After reading their fine report and participating in a hearing with them in the Select Committee on Homeland Security, I, like most, if not all, of my Democratic colleagues in the House, endorsed all 41 recommendations.”