A tough negotiator, Collins gains political clout

The overwhelming congressional approval of sweeping reforms to the country’s intelligence gathering has marked a significant victory for Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who led negotiations surrounding the legislation.

Collins, chairwoman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, cultivated legislation that had appeared dead into a bill that some lawmakers are calling the most significant law of the year.

Her work has earned her praise from other lawmakers and President Bush, who praised the compromise measure as “historic legislation that will better protect the American people and help defend against ongoing terrorist threats.”

“The stakes were very high,” Collins said. “I think a lot of people didn’t think it could be done, that turf battles and institutional battles were going to doom the effort.”

The legislation, which establishes a new director of national intelligence to oversee the nation’s 15 military and civilian spy agencies and make sure they work together to forestall future attacks, grew out of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission.

The commission said that didn’t happen before terrorists flew airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“She stepped up to a challenging task, has worked non-stop incessantly over the last four months, and has given a great victory to America by that effective leadership,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

Collins dealt directly with the White House on the legislation, reviewing language with Vice President Dick Cheney in the final crucial hours of talks. She held firm against House Republicans who sought to alter or drop Senate provisions.

Military control became the biggest fight in the bill because the Defense Department now spends about 80 percent of the reported $40 billion a year on intelligence gathering. The bill’s opponents in the Senate included some of the most powerful men in the chamber, including Armed Services Chairman John Warner, R-Va., and Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

But Collins fought off every hostile amendment before winning initial passage in the Senate by an 89-2 vote.

Negotiations on the bill broke down with the House over military issues. House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., sought to prevent the national intelligence director from interfering with the Pentagon’s duties.

The compromise emerged Sunday night, with language that said when the White House drafts guidelines for the new intelligence director, the post “shall respect and not abrogate” responsibilities of the heads of departments.

Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla. and a former Intelligence Committee chairman, said the victory raised Collins’ esteem and clout after 25 years of the nation’s failed efforts to reform intelligence gathering.

“She’s going to get a great deal of credit for breaking this quarter-century logjam,” he said.