Wu Appointed To Conference Committee On 9/11 Commission Recommendations

Press Release

WU APPOINTED TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ON 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

Today Congressman David Wu was one of sixty-two members asked to serve on the House-Senate conference committee working on H.R. 1, legislation to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

"As the most recent National Intelligence Estimate supports, the Bush Iraq war has made us less safe. It is now more important than ever before that we refocus our efforts on Osama bin Laden and his network, the real perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks," Congressman Wu said. "If we had stayed on track in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda would not be the "most visible and capable affiliate" of Osama bin Laden, and Iraq would not be a training ground for newly recruited terrorists. Not only is Osama bin Laden still at large, he now has an even greater, more capable network of sympathizers."

Almost three years ago, on July 22, 2004, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission submitted its 41 recommendations to Congress on how to better protect America from terrorism. Unfortunately, the Republican-led Congress never acted on these recommendations.

In January, the new 110th Congress made implementing the recommendations a priority. H.R. 1 was the first bill to pass the U.S. House of Representatives under the new leadership.

H.R. 1 is legislation based on the commission's recommendations. The bill addresses a broad variety of topics that affect domestic security, including communications interoperability for first responders; aviation security; shipping cargo security; border security; intelligence information sharing; and protection from weapons of mass destruction.

The conference committee began work today, and it will likely continue into next week. Once work is complete, the legislation will be sent back to both chambers for final passage.

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