U.S. House passes anti-terrorism legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a counter-terrorism legislation, the first of six measures that Democrats had promised to consider during the first 100 hours of the new Congress.

The bill, designed to implement the long-stalled recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission that investigated the 2001 terror attacks, was approved by a vote of 299 to 128. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

"Our first and highest duty as members of this Congress is to protect the American people, to defend our homeland and to strengthen our national security," said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland.

The Sept. 11 commission released its findings in a report in July 2004, which blamed the government for the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington, and proposed a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. Bush promised at that time to study the recommendations but rejected the blame of the commission report, saying he did not have enough warning to prevent the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001.

Only about half of the panel's recommendations were enacted by the previous Republican-controlled Congress, which included the creation of a new post of the Director of National Intelligence to oversee all U.S. intelligence agencies and also a counter-terrorism center.

The measure the House approved on Tuesday requires that all cargo on board passenger planes and ships bound for the United States be inspected, and the government to consider the risk of terror attacks when distributing homeland security grants to the 50 states.

The legislation also establishes a new program to make sure local governments can communicate effectively in the event of a crisis.

In addition, the House approved a resolution to create a subcommittee to oversee intelligence, another recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission.

Other measures that Democrats had promised to consider in the first weeks of the 110th Congress that convened last Thursday included an increase in the minimum wage, relaxation of the Bush administration's restrictions on stem cell research, and lower prescription drug prices.

Source: Xinhua