Washington, D.C. - I wholeheartedly welcome the bipartisan 9/11 Commission's findings and recommendations. This report affords us a blueprint for discussion and action to strengthen our country against terrorist threats. As the Commission made crystal clear, continued vigilance from our country's leadership, from both the Administration and Congress, is imperative.

The failure to prevent the September 11 attacks and the massive exaggeration of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein in the days leading up to the Iraq war are two of the most devastating intelligence failures in our country's history, and both have occurred in the 21st century. These intelligence failures underscore the threat that al Qaeda and other terrorist networks continue to pose to Americans at home and abroad, and the challenges and hard work ahead as we work to reform the way the CIA, FBI, this and future Administrations, and Congress meet the terrorists' threat.