The National Commission on TerroristAttacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was to
make a full and complete accounting of thecircumstances surrounding the attacks, and the extent of the United States' preparedness for, andimmediate response to, the attacks; andâ¦investigate and report to the President and Congress on itsfindings, conclusions, and recommendations for corrective measures that can be taken to prevent actsof terrorism. (3)
The panel's July 22 report was the culmination of a series of hearings and investigations by the paneland its staff into the terrorist attacks. The proposal is relativelysparse on details, and implementing it would require the Senate to flesh out the plan substantially;however, it is clear that the recommended changes in the Senate's confirmation process wouldprovide a certain up-or-down vote by the full chamber on all National Security Team nomineeswithin a definitive time frame (30 days) after a nomination is made at the start of an administration. Congressional Response

On October 6, the Senate passed, by a vote of 96-2, legislation ( S. 2845 ),introduced by Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Susan Collins and Ranking MemberJoseph I. Lieberman, that would implement many of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. It states that the "Senate committees to which thesenominations are referred should, to the fullest extent possible, complete their consideration of thesenominations, and, if such nominations are reported by the committees, the full Senate should voteto confirm or reject these nominations within 30 days of their submission." This is, essentially, anaffirmation of the current confirmation process. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on December17, 2004 ( P.L. 108-458 ). A review of the data on the speed with which newadministrations have been able to get their National Security Team members in place suggests thisis an issue in a minority of cases. Historically, much of the regular order of business on the nomination and confirmationof presidential appointments has been regulated not by strict, formal rules, but rather by informalcustoms that can change (and have changed) over the years, as the relative balance of power betweenthe President and the Senate ebbs and flows. (20) 

	Implementation of the 9/11 Commission's Recommendation

		Committee Proceedings

The 9/11 Commission's proposal, and most likely the House-passed provision to S. 2845 , would presumably require that Senate committee chairs schedule confirmationhearings on the proposed members of the National Security Team. The power of committee chairs to control the agenda of their panels is longstanding. Means of Implementation

The Senate could institute procedures to implement the 9/11 Commission's proposal or theHouse provision in several ways: by enacting an expedited procedures law, by amending the Senate'sstanding rules or its standing orders, through adoption of a unanimous consent agreement, or bypassage of a constitutional amendment. Expedited Procedures Statute. Constitutional Amendment. Standing Order. "The relationship between the executive and legislative branches has been and remainsessentially political. Conflict occurs in the appointment process for a verysimple reason. What would a new process mean for other presidential nominations,particularly those to the judiciary?
On July 22, 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States,known as the 9/11 Commission, issued its final report, detailing the events up to and including theSeptember 11, 2001 terrorist attacks upon the United States. The report contained 41recommendations on ways to prevent future catastrophic assaults, including a series of proposalsdesigned to improve the presidential appointments process as it relates to the top national securityofficials at the beginning of a new administration. On October 6, the Senate passed legislation( S. 2845 ) to implement many of the changes recommended by the 9/11 Commission. The House on October 8 passed its version of the legislation ( H.R. 10 ). The Presidentsigned the final version of the bill on December 17, 2004 ( P.L. 108-458 ). Two other measuresdealing with the 9/11 Commission's recommendations ( S. 2774 and H.R. 5040 ) were introduced in early September.
The 9/11 Commission recommended that the Senate adopt rules requiring hearings and votesto confirm or reject national security nominees within 30 days of their submission at the start of eachnew presidential administration. Implicit in the proposal is the assumption that there is a problemwith the process for nominating and confirming presidential appointees. Analysis of Senateconsideration of the initial nominations by Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush to theposts covered by the recommendation shows that the commission's proposed timetable was not metin 14 of the 49 cases, suggesting this is an issue in a minority of cases.
The Constitution gives the Senate a role in the presidential appointments process, but theparameters of that role have never been clearly defined. The current process is regulated by amixture of formal rules and informal customs, as well as by political interactions between thePresident and Senators. Implementing the commission's proposal would presumably requireinstituting procedures that guarantee committee consideration of each nomination, at least at ahearing, and a final vote on each by the full Senate. Changes of this kind would involve newrestrictions on both the power of committee chairs to control the agenda of their committees and therights of Senators to delay or block nominations through holds and extended debate. These changeswould likely also alter the relationship between the legislative and executive branches, weakeningthe negotiating posture of the Senate in relation to the President, particularly if they were to beextended to additional nominations.
Procedures adequate to implement the commission's recommendation would resemble anexpedited procedure, such as those used in resolutions of approval and disapproval of executiveactions. Procedural changes of this kind could be achieved by amending the Standing Rules of theSenate, changing the Standing Orders of the Senate, passing a Constitutional Amendment enactingan expedited procedures statute, or reaching a unanimous consent agreement.
This report will be updated as events warrant.