Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35561

So, the reform bill has the votes can pass House and Senate, but Hastert doesn't want it to pass needing Democrat support, and some of the Republicans (primarily Pentagon loyalists) won't vote for it. So, Hastert won't call a vote, even though he himself claims to support the bill, just to avoid the horror of a bill needing Democrat support to pass. The concern amongst some of the republicans appears to relate to the fact that the Pentagon (who get 80% of the intelligence budget) don't want the unifying oversight because this will in some sense lessen their control.

Ah, politics.

I don't have a particular opinion on the bill itself, incidentally, I'm more interested in the fact that the bill isn't being put to a vote even though it will pass.

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35561

Today or tomorrow is the last chance this session. So will be interesting to see if Hastert does call the vote, or if Bush is really applying pressure to get it through (he is certainly talking the talk, in public at least).

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35561

So, it looks like there will be a vote. Sensenbrenner hasn't got anything but he does have a promise that the immigration stuff that he wants will be added to an important bill in January. However, I heard supporters of his on NPR yesterday saying that in their opinion, it is unlikely that they'll get what they want unless it is attached to this bill. I assume that they'll get at least some of it, anyhow, though.

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Registered: Jul 2001
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 4678

The biggest issue in the intel community is rice bowls and information sharing.

There are dilbert cartoons about this--people arguing on and on and not knowing that they have different meanings for the same acronym. All the intel agencies do business differently and they don't play nice in the sandbox.

I'm all for an oversight/fusion entity which will bring together more information sources (SIGINT, HUMINT, what-have-you) while at the same time being more under the control of the Congress.

However, I doubt that's what they have planned.
I think what they have PLANNED is a whole lot of talking, some new jobs, a new agency, and a whole lot of nothing really getting done because they won't empower the new positions like they should. Just look at what happened with Amit Yoran--give someone a huge job and no budget or authority to get it done and they will resign in disgust every time.

'Course, that's just my $0.02.

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