Larsen Supports Intelligence Reform Bill

Statement

Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement regarding S. 2845, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. The House overwhelmingly passed the conference report this evening by a vote of 336 to 75. The bill is based largely on the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission:

"As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I attended hearings on the 9/11 Commission recommendations and met with 9/11 victims' families. The hearings and the report made clear that it was past time for Congress to act to make America safer.

"That is why I voted today in support of the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

"While we cannot change the tragic events of September 11, we can-and we should have long ago-made necessary changes to prevent a future September 11. While not perfect, the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 overhauls our intelligence agencies and creates a strong National Intelligence Director.

"Important to Washington state and our security, this bill also provides additional resources to improve security at the nation's airports, coasts, and borders. This bill ensures that there will be at least 400 new Border Patrol agents at the Northern Border added each year for the next five years.

"I was also pleased to see that this bill creates an independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Board as recommended by the 9/11 Commission to make sure we are preventing terrorism while protecting the privacy of law-abiding citizens. I will work to ensure that this board lives up to its promise.

"We need these urgent reforms. The 9/11 Commission supports them. The families of the 9/11 victims support them. A bipartisan majority of the House and Senate support them, as does the president.

"There is only one risk greater to this nation than the threat of terrorism: the threat of fighting terrorism the way we did before 9/11. This bill marks the beginning, not the end, of our efforts to protect the American people."

Larsen is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities.

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