Former 9/11 panelists say proposals’ implementation incomplete

Former members of the 9/11 Commission criticized Congress and the executive branch Wednesday for failing to implement reforms in homeland security that they believe would have saved lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The 10-page report published by the 9/11 Public Discourse Project--a nonprofit group established to follow up on the commission's recommendations--submitted 14 recommendations in emergency preparedness and response and transportation and border security that have yet to be fully implemented.

Thomas H. Kean, former chairman of the commission, said although four years have passed without an attack on American soil, the overall threat of terrorism has not subsided.

Specifically, Kean criticized Congress for not creating sufficient space on the radio spectrum devoted to first responders and said lawmakers now have an opportunity to do something after emergency workers had trouble communicating with each other in the recovery efforts.

"If Congress doesn't act, people will die," Kean said.

In June, the former panelists stated that the government was falling into a false sense of security since Sept. 11, 2001, and that the threat of a nuclear attack could be mitigated if the government secured more fissile material abroad.

The report is the first of several the group plans to release as it examines the government's response to the 9/11 commission's 41 recommendations for improving the country's ability to prevent and to respond to terrorism threats.

Kean said a unified command system for responding to emergency situations has not been established, but the authority given to governors to call in the National Guard for emergency purposes is adequate.

Several commissioners, including Kean, said discussions on taking the Federal Emergency Management Agency out from under the umbrella of the Homeland Security Department were misguided and that efforts should be placed on improving resources and personnel.

"I think it would be a mistake to get into that debate," said former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., who was vice chairman of the 9/11 commission. "I know there's a tendency to think there's an organizational solution to every problem."

Hamilton criticized Congress' allocations of homeland security funding, calling for laws that would allocate the money on the basis of risk, "not political pork."

Commissioners found the progress in completing a risk assessment of the country's critical infrastructure and vulnerabilities unacceptable, along with efforts to improve airline passenger prescreening, devising a nationwide strategy for transportation security and collaborating with other countries on borders and document security.

Panelists were divided on whether an independent panel similar to their own should be formed to study the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Former commissioner and ex-Indiana congressman Timothy Roemer called for an outside group to investigate, but said Congress should not hand over its oversight responsibilities to an independent panel in order to avoid holding hearings of its own.

Other former commissioners noted that the situation surrounding Katrina was not as complicated as the events of Sept. 11, 2001. While there were "many failures of many people," former panelists John F. Lehman said, action is needed, "not more investigation."