Intel bill now a done deal

WASHINGTON — President Bush and the U.S. Senate got most of what they wanted with the intelligence reform legislation that has now passed both the House and Senate, and families of the 9/11 victims who had lobbied Congress nonstop in recent weeks got some long-overdue satisfaction.

The measure — which revamps the nation's spy agencies, establishing a post for a single director to oversee the gathering and analysis of intelligence by both military and civilian agencies — overwhelmingly passed the Senate Wednesday, 89-2, one day after the House accepted a compromise measure endorsed by the president.

Bush has said he will sign the bill, and he praised what he called "historic legislation that will better protect the American people and help defend against ongoing terrorist threats. . . . We remain a nation at war," he said, "and intelligence is our first line of defense against the terrorists who seek to do us harm."

While many in Congress also praised the reforms, House Republicans remain deeply divided on the compromise legislation, as are members of Utah's delegation.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, joined with a group of conservative House members in voting no to the compromise, whereas Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, voted for it Tuesday. On the Senate side, Bob Bennett, R-Utah, voted Wednesday in favor of the compromise. Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Chris Cannon were in Utah and missed their respective votes.

"While I'm not pleased with everything in the new bill, it is an important, positive step in the right direction, and I support it," said Bennett.

Bishop said he was never convinced by the 9/11 Commission report or testimony before Congress that a major overhaul was needed or that a single intelligence czar overseeing all intelligence operations would really solve any problems.

Bishop also has concerns about the potential abuses that could occur as civil liberties are subverted in the name of national security.

"I still have a healthy degree of skepticism," he said, "but this compromise is closer to a good bill, and I could have justified voting for it."

But, he added, he remains skeptical of the need to restructure the chain of command for intelligence agencies and add what he sees as another layer of bureaucracy. And he remains unconvinced that Congress had to pass something before the end of the year.