Commission report. This is an hour and a half. [applause] well thank you very much. I apologize for being late. Im sure you understand. I do want to thank the vice chair and the 9 11 commissione commissioners. The right thing to thank them for is the love of our country. Thats been manifested obviously in each case in many ways but particularly the commitments when they were commissioners when that was going on, but even more importantly the sustainment of that commitment which i think at its root is another reflects the level of the country. And also, i feel obliged to support and thank them for the continued support of the Intelligence Community and our National Security structure that. The past few days and weeks have been in tens with world events. So i appreciate the chance this morning to start by briefly and talk about the journey the Intelligence Community has taken over the past decade. Like all journeys this is the one that is the work in progress. Today we face the most dive
That quote from the congressman showing only did the past secretaries about the oversight reform, but so does the whos who of the National Security commission. The problem looks like this, the solution is going to be discussed by the distinguished panel. Its my pleasure to introduce gorman who is a reporter covering terrorism, counterterrorism and intelligence and she won the 2006 award for the washington correspondents to recover to the National Security agency at a 2000 received a citation for the National Magazine writing for the educatio education writing association. She will moderate the panel. Thanhispanic thank you for jg us for our officially unsexy panel. [laughter] but congressional reform is probably the most highprofile reform that has never fully or at all then embraced, and in the ten year report looking at the current state of the play for the National Security Council Commission says that theres been a proliferation of the committees that are now responsible for the co
You and more importantly giving a compass to find our way forward in our integration journey. And im proud and humbled to represent the community and the men and women and that this morning. So, to the commissioners, thank you for what you did in the Community Ten years ago and thank you for what you continue to do in that spirit and thanks for your wisdom. Thanks very much for having me. [applause] report calls on congress to consolidate its oversight of Homeland Security. Are 92 committees and subcommittees overseeing Homeland Security. A forume spoke at hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center calling the structure archaic and out of date. This is one hour 15 minutes. The next panel is going to focus on one of the last major recommendations of the 9 11 commission. Simplifying and consolidating oversight of Homeland Security. That doesnt sound like the sexiest topic, but it is one that is important, and if addressed his soul to the needs facing the country. Every Nonpartisan Group that
One of the prognosticators on this said that this opens the way for the democrats next election year. As far as some of the enthusiasm and my caucus, i always listen to my members. Its a part of our life, but i am proud of the unity that we have had and frankly, my leadership in terms of keeping everybody together and fighting the Health Care Bill in the house of representatives. Very proud of our success in defeating at the first time, moving them to the right to the place where i think is unsustainable, but defines who they are very clearly. Im very proud of our unity which gave me leverage to succeed enormously in negotiations on the bill. When it comes to the issues, we are united in terms of our concern for americans families. Thats what unifies us. When it comes to personal addition and having fun on tv, i love the arena. I thrive on competition, and i welcome discussion. Every action has a reaction, every attack has a reaction with that, im pleased to take any questions. Reporte
Our ted barrett, our stealth senate producer says the expectation is, first there will be a vote, that the democrats will get, which is going to be to send all of this back to the committees. Which is not going to pass because its a democratic measure and it will probably be party line. That is obviously to make a point. The point being, this is not doing right theres john mccain on his cell phone. This is live outside of his office. Hes been critical when it comes to this. Right. Let me move on to why john mccain is important on this particular want to see if he was going to say anything. On this particular measure. And the answer is because he knows been reporting for hours now, the question has been, whether or not republicans like john mccain, Lindsey Graham, others, who do not like this skinny bill at all. They say its bad policy. It would be bad if it became the law. They do not want it to become the law. What they have been looking for is an assurance from the House Speaker that