House Panel to Evaluate 9/11 Commission's Recommendations

A U.S. House Intelligence select committee on Thursday announced it will conduct a bipartisan review of recommendations included in the 9/11 Commission Report.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's announcement came on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Co-Chairs Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., will oversee a review that will evaluate the progress made on the intelligence-related recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States in The 9/11 Commission Report, released in July 2004, and identify possible gaps or areas of improvement.

The 9/11 attacks led to the creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to coordinate activities responding to threats.

Select committee hearings are scheduled to start next month, the New York Post reported.

House panel members said next year's 25th anniversary of 9/11 presents a key moment in time to look back and evaluate how the Commission's recommendations have been implemented and identify opportunities for improvement.

"The attacks on 9/11 fundamentally altered the security posture of the United States and the way we engage in the world," HPSCI Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., said in a press release.

"In the dark days following the devastating attack on U.S. soil, we watched Americans come together in unimaginable ways and we pledged never again to allow a failure of intelligence to compromise our national security.

"As we mark the 25th anniversary of one of the darkest days in U.S. history next year, we must ensure our intelligence community and its capabilities remain one step ahead of our rapidly evolving adversaries. While the threats look different today, the mission remains the same: we can never allow a failure to connect the dots to result in catastrophe ever again."

Stefanik said she was "honored" to chair the committee.

"It is important that the intelligence community is equipped to counter terrorism over the next 25 years amid a quickly evolving landscape," Stefanik said in a statement.