Date: 2004-04-20
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I rise today seeking answers to very tough questions. Like many Americans. I have been following the 9/11 Commission hearings with very keen interest. As an American. I want to know how the terrorists infiltrated our borders without detection. and. as a Congresswoman. I have a responsibility to implement policies that protect our country. I view this duty as one of my most urgent and most sacred obligations. At the outset. let me be clear: I do not seek to blame anyone for 9/11. not anyone but the terrorists and their evil supporters. However. I do want to know what happened and what our government can do to make sure that attacks like those on 9/11 never happen again. Therefore. like millions of others. I am eagerly awaiting the report from the 9/ 11 Commission. Unfortunately. and to my disappointment. during the hearings last week it became clear .that Americans may not be able to get- the complete and .honest picture that we deserve. Let me explain what I mean. Last week. under oath. Attorney General John Ashcroft introduced a recently declassified memo by Commissioner Jamie Gorelick regarding the now familiar wall separating the Federal agencies from intelligence agencies. For her part. Ms. Gorelick responded to these charges in an editorial in the Washington Post. However. many tough questions still remain. Ms. Gorelick highlighted why her testimony is so crucial. if not critical. to understanding why our government failed in detecting these attacks At the closing of her editorial. Ms. Gorelick says she made all relevant opinions and briefs available to the Commission. However. the Commission would not accept this reply from National Security Director Condoleezza Rice. and they most definitely should not accept this excuse from one of their own members. Now. I am not in a position right now to judge the validity of these competing claims. Most of us are not in a position to say whether Attorney General Ashcroft is right or wrong. I do not know if. in fact. Ms. Gorelicks policies prevented us from catching the terrorists. I do not know if the current administration could have done more to tear down this wall. But I do know that we need to have. and Americans deserve. the full and complete answer to these questions. � Never mind that resolving the dispute between Attorney General Ashcroft and Commissioner Gorelick is the essence of this Commissions charge. Never mind that Condoleezza Rice was subject to intense criticism for refusing to - testify under oath. which. by the way. she finally did. Never mind the fact that Dr. Kissinger was widely criticized and stepped down for far less of an appearance of conflict of interest than Ms. Gorelick has. Never mind that the Gorelick memo is the biggest news out of the hearings thus far. And. obviously. we must keep in mind the glaring selfinterests of this Commissioner. We believe that the Commissions charge is that all witnesses with essential information. particularly with the ability to clarify policies. must testify. Why is Ms. Gorelick above the standard? The American people. the victims families and the Commission have a right to hear from Ms. Gorelick in public under oath. Simple logic tells us that simply recusing herself from her activities will not suffice. Ms. Gorelick must step down. She must submit her actions and the actions of her Justice Department to the same scrutiny that Dr. Rice and the current administration faces. How can she claim impartial judgment on policies she so obviously disagrees with? How can she comment on the failings of our intelligence and law enforcement communities if her policies actually influence those failings? In short. how can she be on both sides - of the witness table? We created this commission to assess our weaknesses and to make recommendations. To that end. we need to continue the tough. honest questionings that have been the hallmark of these hearings. If Ms. Gorelick refuses to step aside and submit herself under oath to questioning. then the outcome of this commission must be looked at in an entirely different and very tainted light. We would have to ask ourselves what we do not know from what now seems to be destined to be an incomplete record. Knowing what we know about Ms. Gorelicks policies. we must demand she answer for them if only to clear up the charges brought by Attorney General Ashcroft that her policies were to blame. There are many questions to be answered. And obviously Ms. Gorelick must step down and testify under oath.