Ripon Forum


Vol. 40, No. 4

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A Note from the Chairman Emeritus

Amidst all the despair and uncertainty that gripped the nation following September 11, 2001, there remained a feeling of resolve: resolve to fight terrorism; resolve to defend freedom; resolve to put the tragedy behind us and continue down the more than 200-year old path of democracy.

A Vigilant Nation

Five years after the attacks that changed our Nation, America remains on alert.

A Patient Enemy

On 9/11, American entered a war that the terrorists had already begun.

The Battle Abroad

Today, the greatest threat to our military does not come from armed forces, but, rather, from moral ones.

A Key to Our Security

America’s ability to field and deploy new technology is critical to the Long War.

A Challenge that Remains

Our Nation’s first responders still have trouble communicating among themselves.

Q&A with Clay Sell

The Deputy Secretary of Energy discusses the Bush Administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and how it will keep the Nation – and the world – more secure.

Stuck on September 10th

While the Congress acted promptly on Commission recommendations to restructure the Executive Branch, and while we have so far succeeded in preventing any further terrorist attacks in the United States, Congress has done little to reform itself.

The Super Solution to Government Dysfunction

Federal workers in particular need this kind of help, as well. Unfortunately, this is a fact too often ignored by Federal managers, who are restrained by a structure and system that was designed to meet the needs of the past century, not the current one.

Never Forget

The Pentagon Memorial broke ground on June 15th. This was a significant day — a day that marked the beginning of construction of the memorial and gave us a view of the finish line, which will be a ceremony to dedicate the completed memorial in the fall of 2008.

Reforming FEMA

It should be an independent agency with a direct line to the President.

Reforming FEMA

We should focus more on what it does than where it goes.

Ripon Profile of Bill Frist

“I am conservative. I believe the free enterprise system can do a better job at most things than the government can. People should learn to be self-reliant; when they are self reliant, they will have self-respect.”

The Backpage

Like Lincoln, President Bush leads a political party in which many candidates are trying to distance themselves from him as the fall elections draw near.

Stuck on September 10th

Outdated congressional committee system needs to be reformed

One of the most important recommendations of the 9/11 Commission is to strengthen Congressional oversight. While the Congress acted promptly on Commission recommendations to restructure the Executive Branch, and while we have so far succeeded in preventing any further terrorist attacks in the United States, Congress has done little to reform itself. 

Why does such reform matter? The answer is simple. All of the reforms in law, policy, and practice recommended by the Commission require the attention and guidance of the Congress if they are to be implemented and sustained over time. Difficult and complex reforms of our government are at risk if Congress is not a partner in helping them to succeed.  

There is also a fundamental question of checks and balances.  The Congress has created a powerful Director of National Intelligence and a National Counterterrorism Center. It has provided broadened investigative authorities to the Executive Branch, and authorized more intrusive transportation and border inspection measures. Under our Constitution, the Congress must also provide an effective check and balance on the actions of the Executive by conducting robust oversight over the exercise of these authorities.  

9/11 Commission member Slade Gorton (L) talks to Commission Chairman Thomas Kean before the start of a Commission hearing in Washington, DC, in 2004.
9/11 Commission member Slade Gorton (L) talks to Commission Chairman Thomas Kean before the start of a Commission hearing in Washington, DC, in 2004.

Congress cannot play its proper role if its oversight committees are weak. Strong oversight by the Congress protects our liberties and makes our policies better. Our freedom and safety depend on getting this balance right.  

So what should the Congress do? 

First, the Committees on Intelligence and Homeland Security need to be powerful, standing Committees of the Congress, with sufficient and capable staff, strong investigative powers, and exclusive jurisdiction. They should not have to share jurisdiction or be subject to sequential referral over key elements in their jurisdiction. Reforms at the outset of the current Congress did not meet this test. There were some modest changes: the Senate Intelligence Committee removed term limits, reduced its membership, created an oversight subcommittee, and limited sequential referrals. Its House counterpart created an oversight subcommittee. On homeland security, both the House and Senate created permanent Committees, but the Senate Committee has authority over only 30 percent of the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, and 8 percent of the Department’s personnel.  

The Intelligence Committees should have sole jurisdiction over the National Intelligence Program. The Homeland Security Committees should have sole jurisdiction over all counterterrorism elements of the Department of Homeland Security. There should be clear lines of accountability, both by the Executive to the Congress, and by congressional oversight committees to the public. The public needs to know which committees have responsibility for oversight.   

Second, there should be Appropriations subcommittees that clearly track the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees. It is clear that the Congress will not create a single Intelligence Committee with both authorization and appropriation powers, as the Commission originally recommended. The next best solution is to create appropriations subcommittees for intelligence that track the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees, as the Congress has done for homeland security.   

Strong oversight by the Congress protects our liberties and makes our policies better. Our freedom and safety depend on getting this balance right.

To underscore the weakness of the current system of oversight, note that the Congress did not complete action on either an Intelligence or Homeland Security authorization bill for this year. Prospects for FY ‘07 look no better. The Committees are too weak, or too divided, to guide the legislation to completion. In the absence of policy guidance from the responsible committees charged with oversight, who is minding the store?  

We should not place our confidence in congressional oversight structures for national security that were designed at the beginning of the Cold War. The Nation needs to reform all its national security institutions.  

The first order of business for the 110th Congress should be to reform its own Committee structures to meet the security challenges of a new era.

Slade Gorton served on the National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.  Previously, he represented Washington State in the U.S. Senate. He is currently Of Counsel at Preston, Gates & Ellis.