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SEPTEMBER 11th
COMMISSION
OVERWHELMINGLY ENDORSED BY SENATE
STRONG
VOTE FUELS EVENTUAL SUCCESS
September 24, 2002
WASHINGTON - Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said the Senate's
overwhelming vote Tuesday in favor of a blue-ribbon September
11th commission paves the way for eventual passage
of the measure by both houses of Congress.
In a 90-8 vote, the Senate agreed to amend Lieberman's
homeland security bill with a proposal to establish a
10-member commission that would look broadly into the
circumstances surrounding last year's terrorist attacks.
The amendment tracked legislation (S.1867) introduced
in December 2001 by Lieberman and Senator John McCain, R-Ariz.
"The Senate's strong vote today bodes well for
eventual creation of this commission,"
Lieberman said. "When
a new Department of Homeland Security gets up and running, we
owe it to the families of September 11th victims,
and to the country we're striving to secure, to give as
complete and independent an assessment as possible of what
went wrong before September 11th and
why.
"If we don't come to terms with the whole truth by
looking back at what happened," he added, "we can
never move forward with the knowledge and confidence we need
to set things right."
The amendment calls for the establishment of a National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States to make
a full accounting of the circumstances surrounding the
attacks. The
commission could examine subjects ranging from intelligence
failures to the flow of money to terrorist networks, law
enforcement, diplomacy, immigration and border control,
commercial aviation. The White House had opposed creation of
an independent commission until last week.
The House has already approved legislation to establish
a commission, although it differs from the Senate bill.
"The overriding purpose of this inquiry must be a
learning exercise," Lieberman said, "to understand
what happened without political interference or preconceptions
about the ultimate findings."
Under the legislation, the commission will report to
the President and Congress on its findings and recommendations
for corrective measures. Members
of the commission will be appointed by the majority and
minority leaders of the House and Senate.
They will be prominent
U.S.
citizens with national
recognition and significant experience in a variety of
professions. None
will be current office-holders.
Lieberman cited a number of blue-ribbon commissions
that have contributed to the nation's understanding of
significant national security questions.
They include commissions established after
Pearl Harbor
, the death of President John
F. Kennedy, the Challenger explosion,and the bombing of Pan Am
flight 103 over
Lockerbie
,
Scotland
.
In addition, investigative panels were convened after
devastating terrorist attacks against the Marine barracks in
Beirut
;
Khobar
Towers
in
Saudi Arabia
;
U.S.
embassies in
Kenya
and
Tanzania
;
and the USS Cole.
Summary
Statement
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