U.S. Is Given Failing Grades By 9/11 Panel

The federal government received failing and mediocre grades yesterday from the former Sept. 11 commission, whose members said in a final report that the Bush administration and Congress have balked at enacting numerous reforms that could save American lives and prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The 10-member bipartisan panel -- whose book-length report about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks became a surprise bestseller -- issued a "report card" that included 5 F's, 12 D's and two "incompletes" in categories including airline passenger screening and improving first responders' communication system. The panel sharply criticized Congress for failing to enable first responders to communicate easily by setting aside part of the broadcast spectrum for their use. A pending budget bill would open part of the spectrum for first responders in 2009, but the Sept. 11 panel said that date is "too distant given the urgency of the threat."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR200512...
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* 9/11 Panel Issues Poor Grades for Handling of Terror
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/politics/06panel.html?pagewanted=all