Deal clears way for vote on intelligence overhaul

WASHINGTON -- Two powerful congressional chairmen, one who had opposed legislation to revamp the nation's intelligence agencies, endorsed a compromise Monday and moved a bill endorsed by President Bush closer to approval.

House Armed Services chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Senate Armed Services chairman John Warner, R-Va., announced that they would vote for the bill to implement the Sept. 11 commission's terror-fighting recommendations.

Now that they have Hunter's support, GOP leaders plan to call House Republicans to a meeting today to discuss the compromise, the first step toward bringing legislation to the House floor for a vote.

The Senate expects to bring up the bill Wednesday if the House acts today.

The House had refused to vote on the bill because of opposition by Hunter and another committee chairman, and it was in serious trouble when the House adjourned for Thanksgiving.

Hunter now supports it because House-Senate negotiators added language to ensure defense officials would have priority in battlefield areas over the nation's spy satellites and other intelligence equipment.

The California congressman had worried that a new national intelligence director, a position the legislation would create to coordinate spy agencies, would have been able to insert himself into the chain of command from the president to the combatant commanders.

Now "if there is a question as to whether a combatant commander in Iraq has access to an intelligence aircraft, if he needs it in a battle or another agency has access to that aircraft, it's very clear now that he has access to that aircraft," Hunter said.

Unlike Hunter, Warner has been silent through most of the negotiations but said he came forward with his support so Senate Republicans would have no question about where he stands. "They look to the two of us for a degree of leadership" as Armed Services chairmen, said Warner, pointing to Hunter. "And we've I think shown it, if I may say."

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., refused to bring the bill up before Thanksgiving because of the opposition from Hunter and House Judiciary chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

Sensenbrenner still will oppose the bill in Tuesday's GOP meeting because it does not deal with such issues as illegal immigration and asylum changes.

"Border security and immigration reform are vital components of our homeland security efforts, so why are they not included in this legislation?" Sensenbrenner said Monday. "The time to address these issues is now, not next month, not next year."

It was not immediately known how much effect Sensenbrenner's opposition will have on the Republican caucus.

"We hope that this support will provide the final momentum necessary to take intelligence reform across the finish line," Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the lead Senate negotiators, said in a joint statement.

"We are confident there are enough votes in the House and Senate to pass the conference report and send it to the president for his approval."

Bush praised the compromise Monday in a letter to Congress and asked Congress again to pass it.

"We are very close to a significant achievement that will better protect our country for generations to come, and now is the time to finish the job for the good of our national security," Bush said.

Congressional Democrats have said plenty of lawmakers were prepared to approve the legislation despite Hunter and Sensenbrenner's opposition, and they had asked Bush to press fellow Republicans to bring the bill to a vote.

The legislation also cements into law the existence of a national counterintelligence center to coordinate the nation's fight against terrorism.

Bush had used his executive power to order officials to set that center up, and it opened Monday in an undisclosed location in northern Virginia, a government official said. Intelligence veteran John Brennan will lead the new counterterrorism center on an acting basis until the legislation goes into effect, at which time the director will have to be officially nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

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On the Net:

Information on the bills, S.2845 and H.R.10: http://thomas.loc.gov