Agenda Manipulation and the Intelligence-Overhaul Bill

A bill that would mean major intelligence reform based on the 9-11 commission’s recommendations has not moved swiftly through Congress as had been anticipated. As a result, President Bush has been criticized for being unable to manage a Republican-controlled Congress. Analysts and politicians have expressed surprise that the bill has had such trouble moving through Congress. According to a New York Times article, Thomas Keane, the chairman of the 9-11 commission, noted that, "I have never heard of a bill that had the strong support of the president, the vice president, the speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader, the minority leaders of both houses and a large majority of the American people and that didn’t pass.” The cause for the bill’s lack of progress in Congress, it would seem, lies with the Congressman who has the power to set the agenda. If the bill is not brought before the House, it cannot be voted upon, and thus, cannot be approved:

“The intelligence bill, which includes several other provisions intended to force the nation's long-battling intelligence agencies to work together, including establishment of a national counterterrorism center, was derailed this month when Speaker J. Dennis Hastert refused to allow the bipartisan legislation to be brought to a vote despite strong endorsements from the White House and Senate Republicans. His move followed the announcement by two powerful members of his party - Representatives Duncan Hunter of California, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee - that they opposed the bill."

If we assume, under the median voter theory, that the House would pass this bill, we can see the power that Speaker Hastert has in his ability to decide on whether the bill comes to the floor. As reported noted in the above excerpt from the Times article, in this case, several key members of the House are able to control the agenda, and until they allow the bill to come to the floor, the House can neither approve it nor vote it down.