In a defeat for US President George W. Bush, rebellious House Republicans derailed legislation to overhaul the nation's intelligence agencies along lines recommended by the Sept. 11 commission.
"It's hard to reform. It's hard to make changes," said Speaker Dennis Hastert, who sought unsuccessfully to persuade critics among the Republican rank and file to swing behind the measure.
Hastert's decision to send lawmakers home Saturday without a vote drew attacks from Democrats and capped an unpredictable day in which prospects for enactment of the measure seemed to grow, then diminish, almost by the hour. He left open the possibility of summoning lawmakers back in session early next month.
The White House urged Congress to keep working on the legislation.
"The president is committed that we do everything possible to build on the intelligence reforms that have already been made," White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan said.
A compromise approved by key negotiators, the White House and the bipartisan 9/11 commission would have created one position to oversee the CIA and several other nonmilitary spy agencies. A new national counterterrorism center would coordinate the fight against terrorism.
Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney both contacted congressional negotiators by phone in hopes of nailing down a compromise that could clear Congress in the final hours of the session.
But Representatives Duncan Hunter and Jim Sensenbrenner, chairmen of the Armed Services and Judiciary committees, raised objections. Hunter, a California Republican, worried that parts of the bill could interfere with the military chain of command and endanger troops in the field.
"In my judgment, this bill, without strongly reaffirming the chain of command, would render that area confused to the detriment of our Americans in combat so I will not support it," Hunter said.
Hunter said he knew that the president and Hastert wanted this bill, but "what we have to do here is exercise our best judgment."
Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, wanted additional provisions dealing with illegal immigration.
"Unfortunately, the Senate has refused to consider many of the provisions, tagging them as extraneous or controversial," he said.
A group of 9/11 families praised Sensenbrenner for holding out for his illegal immigration provisions.
"Even though the 108th Congress is at its very end, we urge it to let the bill die until the next Congress rather than further weaken the immigration and border security provisions," said the 9/11 Families for a Secure America in a statement.
But another group of 9/11 families called it "unconscionable" that Sensenbrenner and Hunter would stand in the way of the agreement. "They remain unapologetic as they pursue an agenda that is contrary to the express wishes of President Bush and Vice President Cheney," said a statement from the 9/11 Family Steering Committee.
If lawmakers fail to pass legislation this year, they will render moot three months of hearings and negotiations that started with the release of the commission's report in July.
Also see story:
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)