House GOP gains may hurt intelligence overhaul bill prospects

Although top House and Senate conferees intend to continue efforts to reach an agreement on an intelligence overhaul bill, it appears increasingly unlikely a compromise can be reached in time for the lame duck session later this month.

Aides close to the talks say this week's election gains by House Republicans eased the political pressure on them to move closer to the Senate's bipartisan measure. And House leadership aides said a final vote on the measure may be postponed until next year if an agreement is not reached quickly.

Senate conferees, led by Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., have been mulling a new House proposal offered last week by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., who is chairing the conference negotiations. Lieberman's spokeswoman said Thursday the two Senate conference leaders are trying to arrange a meeting with Hoekstra and House Intelligence ranking member Jane Harman, D-Calif.

"They remain committed to getting a bill done," Lieberman's spokeswoman said.

A spokeswoman for Collins said the Senate would make a counteroffer to the new House proposal sometime Friday. But if Senate and House conferees cannot quickly produce an agreement, House leaders are not interested in prolonging the lame duck session, according to other aides, although they said the session, which begins Nov. 16, could extend into the weekend or the early part of the following week "if they are close to a deal."

One senior House leadership aide suggested that the pre-Election Day momentum in the conference deflated after Republicans strengthened their majorities in both chambers, with House conferees now less likely to compromise on several provisions of the bill the Senate has been reluctant to embrace.

"They were close to a deal on virtually everything," the aide said, with the exception of a compromise on budget authority to be granted to a new national intelligence director. "But the wind has been taken out of the sails for Collins and Lieberman."

Conference observers agreed that the Senate bill's bipartisan momentum has been weakened by the outcome of the elections, suggesting that some concessions to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., on the national intelligence director's budget authority may be necessary.

Hunter, backed by House Republicans, said the Pentagon should continue to control intelligence funding levels for the military, a position at odds with the Senate bill, which would give more centralized budget authority to the new intelligence director.

Ultimately, observers say, the burden is on the White House to make intelligence overhaul happen. At a news conference Thursday, President Bush said he would make passage of new intelligence legislation a priority.

"I urge Congress to pass an effective intelligence reform bill that I can sign into law," Bush said.