- © Copyright, 2002, From The Wilderness Publications
www.copvcia.com. All Rights Reserved. May be reposted, distributed or
reprinted for non-profit purposes only.
(FTW) -- In a session
lasting until 2 A.M., the House of Representatives today passed an
amendment to the 2002 Intelligence Authorization Bill (HR 2883) that
would require the establishment of a blue ribbon independent
commission to investigate the attacks of last September 11th. The
amendment, introduced by Indiana Democrat Tim Roemer, passed by a vote
of 219 to 188. 25 of those voting in favor were
Republicans.
But the passage of this amendment is a far cry
from seeing the commission signed into existence. A separate Senate
bill (S 1867) sponsored by Arizona Senator John McCain (R) and Joe
Lieberman (D) has been voted out of the Senate Governmental Affairs
Committee as a separate piece of legislation but has not been voted on
by the full Senate.
There are differences between the two
measures but the House version has the best chance of being acted on
by Congress in the near future. Before an intelligence-funding bill
goes to President Bush for signature, the Senate and House versions
must be reconciled in the Conference Committee and there the Senate
will either accept or reject the Roemer/Smith amendments.
Of
the two versions, the House amendment offers some protection against
political cover-up because of an amendment offered by Rep. Christopher
Smith (R-NJ) that would require inclusion of victim family members on
the commission.
Historically, independent commissions looking
into events from the JFK Assassination, to the Iran-Contra scandal, to
the crash of TWA 800 have failed to publicly acknowledge facts that
were later disclosed and or admitted to in government documents. With
the legitimacy of the Bush Administration, and perhaps the entire
government, at stake - expectations of miraculous revelations from
such a commission are likely overoptimistic. In her book Kiss The Boys
Goodbye (Penguin, 1990), former 60 MINUTES producer Monika
Jensen-Stevenson documented the heartbreaking infiltration of the
Vietnam POW movement by government and intelligence operatives to
cover-up evidence that large numbers of U.S. POWs and MIAs had been
abandoned in Southeast Asia. What began as a unified and committed
movement ultimately disintegrated into splintered and disorganized
factions that often fought each other harder than they fought the
government. Though we know they were left behind, no POWs were ever
repatriated.
The stakes with 9/11 are much higher and the
administration knows this.
Sources tell FTW that the most
effective way to ensure passage of the House version of the
intelligence bill is for activists to contact members of the United
States and encourage them to adopt the Roemer and Smith amendments.
Additional contacts can be made directly to House-Senate conference
committee members from the U.S. Senate. A Senate vote on the
intelligence appropriations act is unlikely before Summer recess which
starts next Monday. The Congress will reconvene on Tuesday, September
3rd and action on the bill is expected shortly thereafter.
If
the Senate adopts the two amendments and sends the bill to the White
House, there is still the possibility that President Bush will veto
it. Both he and Vice President Cheney are on record as having asked
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D) to curtail and limit any
investigations of the attacks.
- U.S. Senate Conferees
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- Kennedy (D-MA)
- 617/565-3170 Boston
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- Dodd (D-CT)
- 860/258-6940 Wethersfield
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- Harkin (D-IA)
- 515/284-4574 Des Moines
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- Mikulski (D-MD)
- 410/962-4510 Baltimore
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- Jeffords (I-VT)
- 802/223-5273 Montpelier
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- Bingaman (D-NM)
- 505/988-6647 Santa Fe
- 505/346-6601 Albuquerque
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- Wellstone (D-MN)
- 651/645-0323 St. Paul
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- Murray (D-WA)
- 206/553-5545 Seattle
- 509/624-9515 Spokane
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- Reed (D-RI)
- 401/943-3100 Cranston
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- Edwards (D-NC)
- 919/856-4245 Raleigh
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- Clinton (D-NY)
- 518/431-0120 Albany
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- Lieberman (D-CT)
- 860/549-8463 Hartford
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- Bayh (D-IN)
- 317/554-0750 Indianapolis
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- Gregg (R-NH)
- 603/225-7115 Concord
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- Frist (R-TN)
- 615/352-9411 Nashville
- 901/683-191 Memphis
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- Enzi (R-WY)
- 307/772-2477 Cheyenne
- 307/739-9507 Jackson
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- Hutchinson (R-AR)
- 501/324-6336 Little Rock
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- Warner (R-VA)
- 804/771-2579 Richmond
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- Bond (R-MO)
- 314/725-4484 St. Louis
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- Roberts (R-KS)
- 785/295-2745 Topeka
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- Collins (R-ME)
- 207/622-8414 Augusta
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- Sessions (R-AL)
- 205/731-1500 Birmingham;
- 334/265-9507 Montgomery
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- DeWine (R-OH)
- 614/469-5186 Columbus
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- Allard (R-CO)
- 719/643-6071 Colorado Springs
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- Ensign (R-WY)
- 775/686-5770 Reno
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