Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following statement regarding the 9-11 Commission's final report.
"The 9-11 Commission report ratifies what President Bush said to Congress following the attacks of September 11. The Commission gave us a report that we will use as we take more steps forward in building our homeland defense. The report shows the emerging global threat of the Al-Qaeda network during the last 10 years and the failure of our domestic and international intelligence agencies to respond.
"Obviously we want the best possible intelligence. Our intelligence agencies need to use this report as a catalyst to make changes. This is not about moving around boxes on their organizational charts. This is about thinking differently.
"The report also confirms the problems troubling the FBI for years in its counter-terrorism efforts. Director Mueller has committed and worked to reform and improve the FBI. The commission's recommendations for the FBI, and ongoing reforms, need constant oversight to ensure against backsliding into old bad habits. The new way of doing business has to be more than on paper. Operations from headquarters to the field must continue to transform so terrorist attacks are prevented, not just investigated after the fact.
"Unfortunately, it appears the report fails to adequately address key questions about terrorism financing, a major priority of the War on Terror. The deep-pocket donors to terrorism and Al Qaeda have faced few consequences for their funding. As we move forward, it's important that our law enforcement agencies find the information to help us identify and understand terrorist networks so action can be taken before the terrorists strike.
"The report provides us a benchmark to see what we have already done and what we have yet to do."