Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) is introducing a measure that would force a House vote on whether or not to require the Bush administration to release controversial secret reports by the intelligence community on Iraq and terrorism.
The measure would call for the release of both the secret April 2006 report, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, that is said to conclude the Iraq war has increased the danger of terrorism, as well as a separate classified report on the state of Iraq first mentioned by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) in comments this morning.
Conyers’ measure, a “resolution of inquiry,” would require a full vote of the House within 14 legislative days of its introduction. While the resolution cannot be waylaid, the House leadership determines when during those two weeks it is raised. So a vote seems unlikely before the end of the week, when Congress will go into recess until after the November elections. The resolution has no guarantee of passage, however it forces all members to take a public position on the issue. (More details on resolutions of inquiry here.)
“The President needs to declassify and release both reports immediately,” Conyers said in a statement e-mailed to TPMmuckraker.com. “The American people deserve to know the whole truth.”
