Kerry Urges Swift Action on 9/11 Report

[DrFunkenstein]

BOSTON - Keeping national security at the front of the presidential campaign, John Kerry called Tuesday for extending the life of the Sept. 11 commission to help ensure that its recommendations are enacted as soon as possible. "The stakes are too high," he said.

In Virginia, a Republican-leaning yet military heavy state that Kerry wants to win, the Massachusetts senator called for the Sept. 11 panel to continue working beyond its scheduled Aug. 26 end date to ensure its suggested reforms are put in place.

Kerry has endorsed all the recommendations the commission released last week, and has urged President Bush to act quickly on them. He said he would, on "the day I become president."

Pressed about Bush's reaction to the Kerry proposal, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan would only say the president is focused on the commission's recommendations "and those steps that we can take in working with the Congress to improve intelligence or to make us safer." Bush has a task force reviewing the commission's proposals.

"We have the strength as a nation to do what needs to be done," Kerry said Tuesday. "The only thing we don't have is time. We need to do it now."

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