GOP lawmakers block intelligence overhaul
Congressional leaders vow to try again in December
 |  House Speaker Dennis Hastert says lawmakers "have to have confidence that we do no harm." |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 Why intelligence overhaul stalled in Congress.
|
|
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bill aimed at overhauling the nation's intelligence agencies was pulled Saturday because of conservative opposition, on what was supposed to be the last day of Congress' lame-duck session.
Republican leaders were caught between angry conservatives, who threatened to vote against the bill, and President Bush, who insisted it should be passed.
Congressional sources told CNN that Bush, in Chile for an economic summit, called a congressman Friday night and told him to "back off" from pushing contentious provisions related to immigration.
Congress will remain in session, and if an agreement is reached before January, a vote on the bill could be taken.
"Our members want us to continue, the speaker wants us to continue to negotiate, and so does the Senate, so we're going to continue to negotiate and see if we can get a bill in December," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, according to The Associated Press.
In a meeting of House GOP leaders Saturday, Speaker Dennis Hastert said a main concern was that some of the proposed changes could endanger U.S. troops, "who use real-time intelligence."
"We need to clarify it. We need to work on it. We will continue to do that," Hastert said.
"When it comes to a question of the safety of our troops, I don't think we should have any question at all. For our members to move a piece of legislation, they have to have confidence that we do no harm, that we actually make sure that our troops are safe."
The bill was spawned by recommendations of the bipartisan commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It would create a national intelligence director, who would be a principal adviser to the president. A main sticking point has been how much control the director would have over the estimated $80 billion intelligence budget.
The House and Senate have been working to get compromise legislation based on the 9/11 commission's recommendations since August.
Earlier Saturday, when it was thought lawmakers had successfully married House and Senate versions of the bill, two former members of the 9/11 Commission released a statement saying the resulting legislation is a "good bill and a strong bill."
Although one group of relatives of those killed in the terrorist attacks supported the joint bill, another said it supported the House version because of stronger immigration provisions not in the Senate version.
"We believe this legislation will make our country safer by improving communication, collaboration and sharing of critical information within our intelligence community," said a statement issued by the 9/11 Family Steering Committee.
The group 9/11 Families for a Secure America, however, said provisions in the Senate version "will not prevent future attacks like those that murdered our loved ones. Without serious immigration provisions, the Senate bill will leave America as vulnerable as it was on September 11, 2001."
The organization said Congress should let the bill die until next year, rather than pass a measure that it says would weaken immigration and border security.
Tentative agreement between the House and Senate came, sources told CNN, after President Bush called Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin late Friday to urge the congressman to "back off" from pushing immigration driver's license provisions that threatened the bill's passage.
Those provisions would have forbidden states to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants; required refugees and those granted asylum to get driver's licenses that are annually renewed; and imposed what some immigrant advocates said were onerous identification requirements on immigrants seeking driver's licenses.
Sensenbrenner had defended the provisions because all 19 hijackers involved in the attacks had acquired U.S. driver's licenses. But after his conversation with the president, Sensenbrenner agreed to drop them, congressional sources said.
But, in a meeting that lasted until after 4 a.m. Saturday, Sensenbrenner argued to reopen other disputed immigration provisions, congressional staffers involved in the negotiations said.
CNN's Dana Bash, Joe Johns and John King contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
