Aides: 9/11 reforms won't pass Congress by election
From Ted Barrett
CNN Washington Bureau
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Conceding they won't be able to complete work on September 11 reforms before the election, House and Senate negotiators hope at least to have an agreement among themselves by then, senior congressional aides said Tuesday.
If that happens, lawmakers could return after the election to adopt the agreement and send it to President Bush for his signature.
The realization is a setback for many lawmakers, families, and members of the September 11 commission, who have argued it would be very difficult to pass a bill after the election.
Despite days of marathon sessions, the talks appear deadlocked. Each side accuses the other of digging in and refusing to be flexible on the key issue of how much authority a new national intelligence director would have over the intelligence agencies now run by the Pentagon.
A September 11 families group that supports the Senate bill to give broad authority to the director warned that politicians could pay a price for failure.
"History will judge their actions and we, the families and the American people, will hold them personally accountable when, tragically, other families face a similar loss in the next attack," Mary Fetchet, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
Fetchet lost her son in the attacks.
Members of another family group -- one that supports the House bill to keep the Pentagon largely responsible for its intelligence agencies -- plan a news conference Wednesday to urge lawmakers not to rush reforms. They argue that Election Day is an artificial deadline.
"For most of our members, this is not an issue back home," said John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois. "We're doing this because we want a good bill."
House Republicans were bolstered Friday when Gen. Richard Myers, the Joint Chiefs chairman, broke ranks with the White House and endorsed the House bill.
Former September 11 commissioner Tim Roemer was incredulous that Myers' broke from the administration. Roemer, a Democrat, suggested Myers' endorsement was privately blessed by the White House.
"It's certainly very curious that the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke out over the weekend undercutting the president's position," he said. "Certainly this administration has a spotty record of support for the 9/11 commission."
A White House spokeswoman told CNN that Myers' had previously made his views known, but that the president's position prevailed within the administration.
The spokeswoman added that Bush still is working with Congress to get a deal as soon as possible.
Congressional aides said talks should continue throughout the week.
