House Rejects Plan Endorsed by 9/11 Panel

[papau]

By a 203-213 vote, the House on Thursday voted down a bill similar to a Senate measure to implement the recommendations by the 9/11 commission, setting the stage for passage of a different piece of legislation, which adds controversial provisions giving more powers to law enforcement

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/politics/08panel.html

October 8, 2004
House Rejects Plan Endorsed by 9/11 Panel
By PHILIP SHENON

ASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - The House voted Thursday night to reject a sweeping bill that would have enacted most of the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission and was similar to a bipartisan Senate bill that has the endorsement of the White House, the commission's leaders and many of the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The vote, 203 to 213, appeared to clear the way for passage on Friday of a related bill being offered by House Republican leaders that includes many contentious law-enforcement provisions that were not recommended by the Sept. 11 commission and have been strongly criticized by Democrats and civil liberties groups.

The Republican bill would create the post of national intelligence director, in keeping with the commission's central recommendation, but would provide the intelligence director with significantly less budgetary and personnel authority than the commission recommended and than is offered in the Senate bill.

Commission members and Congressional Democrats have warned that by pursuing a bill so different from its popular Senate counterpart, House Republicans may have made it impossible for Congress to agree on a final bill this year, perhaps ending any hope for the intelligence overhaul recommended by the bipartisan commission.<snip>