August 13, 2004 – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) called today for the prompt adoption of legislation to enact the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations for improving our nation’s intelligence-gathering and counter-terrorism activities.

“The September 11 attacks provided a devastating wake-up call for our nation,” Congressman Doyle said today. “Few Americans realized before then the size and scope of the threat that al Qaeda and similar terrorist organizations posed to our country. Those attacks prompted many of us in Congress to call for an independent commission to conduct an objective, comprehensive evaluation of the shortcomings of our intelligence agencies and provide us with recommendations for fixing them so that we could prevent future terrorist attacks.”

The bipartisan 9/11 Commission spent 18 months looking at U.S. government efforts to monitor and combat al Qaeda prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Commission concluded that the federal government agencies responsible for gathering intelligence and fighting terrorism didn’t do a very good job of sharing information and coordinating operations in the years leading up to 9/11. Moreover, the Commission determined that these agencies are still not doing a satisfactory job of sharing information and coordinating their operations, and its final report a number of recommendations for improving our national security.

“The 9/11 Commission provided a tremendous service to our nation,” Congressman Doyle said. “It has made a number of thoughtful recommendations on how to make our citizens safer that give Congress an impressive starting point for reducing the threat of terrorism we face. I will work in Congress in the coming months to carefully review the Commission’s work and enact legislation implementing its recommendations.”