Pete Hoekstra

Mr. HOEKSTRA

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time and thank the gentleman for his amendment. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment and appreciate the efforts of the gentleman from Illinois on this issue. The intelligence community looks forward to an opportunity to review this issue further. The DEA has substantial capabilities around the world that should be fully utilized in an appropriate fashion. The report that is provided for in this amendment will assist Congress in its consideration of the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the intelligence community along with the other important responsibilities that the DEA undertakes on a daily basis. I look forward to seeing the report and look forward to the passage of this amendment.

Mr. HOEKSTRA

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, is there a motion, or is there a copy of the motion available at the desk?

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Could we have a copy, please?

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. HOEKSTRA

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote, and pending that, I make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It was stated earlier that the President supports the Menendez amendment. That is inaccurate. The administration supports House passage of H.R. 10. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), another individual who gets his facts right.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume to note that CRS has identified provisions of H.R. 10 that are relevant or respond to 39 of the 41 recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), the distinguished member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence who spent an enormous amount of time working on these kind of issues, understanding the issues that face both our troops and our policymakers in this area. (Mr. LaHOOD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In the rules process, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle were not shut out. They did not show up. They only offered one amendment. No other amendments. All their amendments were accepted and made in order. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton). (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo).

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. When a bill is cobbled together at the last minute, sometimes even the authors do not know what is in it. I advise my colleagues to take a look at section 502 that talks of reorganization of congressional jurisdiction. It is part of the bill, page 145. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), an expert on government reorganization, the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the distinguished majority whip.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman Florida (Mr. Young).

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, Lee Hamilton, the distinguished vice chairman, a former Member of this body, the vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, stated what should be obvious to all of us: that as the Senate and the House conduct the normal legislative process, he fully expected each body would refine and put their imprint on the commission's recommendations. He said at a September 28 press conference and on other occasions that the commission's recommendations are not set in stone. In that sense I applaud the Senate for putting its imprint on the commission's recommendations while crafting its bill. I am proud of H.R. 10 and the work that our committees have done on this bill. H.R. 10 is the House's imprint, its product in responding to the commission's recommendations. Let us be clear about what the substitute is and is not. It is the hastily drafted combination of the text of at least two bills introduced in the other body. It is a version that has never been reviewed by any committee in the other body or been voted on in the other body. The Menendez amendment asks the House to simply accept titles II through XI of the McCain-Lieberman bill as introduced. These provisions of McCain-Lieberman have not been reviewed by any committee in the other body. We are also being asked to ignore the modifications made to these provisions during floor consideration in the other body. Similarly, the Menendez amendment asks the House to simply ignore the deliberations on the floor of the other body. Over 6 days with regards to the Collins-Lieberman bill, title I of the Menendez substitute, the Collins-Lieberman bill is frequently described as being ``battle- tested,'' but now we are being requested to ignore the results of the biggest test, the amendment process of the other body. If this is the biggest debate in the House, that is a poor excuse for a legislative proposal to cobble together pieces from the other body that have never been deliberated, that have never been voted on, and that did not pass the other body. The House can do better, and we have done better than what the other body has done and what has been proposed in this amendment. H.R. 10 is a comprehensive bill. H.R. 10 effectively implements the framework of recommendations contained in the report of the 9/11 Commission, especially its core recommendations regarding the restructuring of the intelligence community. Mr. Chairman, for these reasons I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing the Menendez amendment in the nature of a substitute and later on vote overwhelmingly to support H.R. 10.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox).

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Menendez substitute.

Mr. HOEKSTRA

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), my colleague who has fought for the recovery of New York, and a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Jo Ann Davis), a member of the committee.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) a distinguished member of the committee and our ``top gun.''

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas, (Mr. Thornberry), a member of the committee.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 10 is a bill that reforms the intelligence community of the United States. To be sure, this bill has provisions to improve our Nation's ability to prevent and prosecute terrorism, to improve border security, and to improve international security cooperation and coordination. But it is the specific focus of the intelligence reform that I wish to address. This bill, very specifically and very wisely, implements the intelligence reform recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and the House/Senate Joint Inquiry Report. H.R. 10, for example, creates a National Intelligence Director who has dramatically improved authorities and capabilities to manage and coordinate the disparate efforts of the various intelligence components and elements of the United States Government. It makes the National Intelligence Director truly the leader of the entire community, and it makes this person responsible for the coordinated efforts of the entire community. Some will say that H.R. 10 does not follow all of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. In constructing this bill, we critically reviewed the ramifications of one of their recommendations, declassifying the budget. We believe that the unintended negative consequences of such a move outweighed any possible benefits. Why, at a time of war, share any information that our enemies might find useful? I want to be clear to the American people. Structural changes and enhanced authorities cannot and will not ensure perfect knowledge about our enemies' plans and intentions. It is important to say that those who would do America harm are clever. They are very secretive. The asymmetric threats that they can both imagine and effect require us to be many fold better at defense than they need to be in offense. That said, I firmly believe the improvements provided in this bill will make significant improvements in the outcomes of our intelligence analysis, collection, and dissemination. Mr. Chairman, I, like my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, want to ensure the strongest, most empowered intelligence director possible. It is with that specific intent that we met with negotiators from the other affected committees of the House and crafted what I consider to be a very strong bill. H.R. 10 addresses five major improvements for the intelligence community. First and foremost, the bill creates an empowered National Intelligence Director who is the head of the intelligence community and who is the principal adviser to the President on all intelligence matters. Second, it provides this new director with enhanced management authorities to coordinate and manage all aspects of intelligence operations. These new authorities are, I believe, unprecedented and strike a careful balance between the equities of the National Intelligence Director and the heads of the departments that contain the elements of the intelligence community. Third, the National Intelligence Director is vested with the responsibility and authority to dramatically improve information- sharing of intelligence across the government. Fourth, the National Intelligence Director is made responsible for strengthening intelligence analysis across the community. And, finally, this bill creates a National counterterrorism Center. This center will be responsible for analyzing and integrating all intelligence pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism. Finally, I want to mention that this legislation also addresses several provisions for dramatically improving intelligence community training and education, particularly in the areas of foreign language expertise and analyst proficiency. Mr. Chairman, I would also be remiss if I did not turn to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and thank her for the intelligence reform legislation that she offered earlier this year. I hold in very high regard the bipartisan manner in which the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman) and her staff have worked with us on the intelligence provisions of H.R. 10 and look forward to working with her staff as we continue moving through this process, move through the process of a conference committee and bring a bill to the desk of the President. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 10 is real reform of the intelligence community. It is far better and more well thought out than any other legislation we will address today. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 10. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood). (Mr. LaHOOD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), majority whip and a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt). (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)