INTELLIGENCE OVERHAUL | Shot down
Reaction: "It's hard to reform. It's hard to make changes," said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., left, who sought unsuccessfully to persuade critics among the GOP rank and file to swing behind the measure. Hastert's decision to send lawmakers home without a vote drew attacks from Democrats, and capped an unpredictable day in which prospects for enactment of the measure seemed to grow, then diminish, almost by the hour. He left open the possibility of summoning lawmakers back in session early next month.
What was sought: As approved by key negotiators, the White House and the bipartisan the 9/11 commission, the compromise would create a powerful position to oversee the CIA and several other nonmilitary spy agencies. A new national counterterrorism center would coordinate the fight against foreign terrorists.
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