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Congress Creates WMD Commission

By Kunal Rambhia, June 6, 2008

On May 17, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) reported that a new commission, established by a 2007 law passed by Congress, will work over the next six months to analyze “the government’s myriad [Weapons of Mass Destruction] WMD programs to counter nuclear, biological, and chemical arms” and “make recommendations on how to coordinate them.”¹ Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), who is to chair the commission, told the AP that the commission will focus on nuclear and biological weapons because they “have the greatest potential to kill many people.”¹ The commission will work with government agencies, including but not limited to the departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and State, as well as academic institutions and think tanks to gather information.¹

The WMD commission was created under the Implementing the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-53). Under the act, the WMD commission is charged with:

1. assessing “current activities, initiatives, and programs to prevent weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism; and
2. provide a clear and comprehensive strategy and concrete recommendations for such activities, initiatives, and programs.”

The legislation asks the commission to pay “particular attention to activities, initiatives, and programs to secure all nuclear weapons-usable material around the world and to significantly accelerate, expand, and strengthen, on an urgent basis, United States and international efforts to prevent, stop, and counter the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities and related equipment, material, and technology to terrorists and states of concern.”²

WMD commission chair Senator Graham was also a member of the 9/11 Commission. The WMD commission includes 5 democrats and 4 republicans and is intent on producing a “unanimous report,” according to a June 2 article in United Press International.³ The Commission will focus on practical recommendations with the goal of “influencing the next administration and the next Congress.”³

The WMD commission is due to produce a report on their findings in November 2008. Senator Graham said he “hoped it could be published earlier than November, so that its recommendations "will be part of the election-year debate," much as the report of the September 11 Commission had been.”³

References

1. New commission to study WMDs announced. Associated Press. May 17, 2008. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/17/new_commission_to_
   study_wmds_announced. Accessed June 6, 2008.
2. Implementing the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-53). http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ053.110.pdf. Accessed June 6, 2008.
3. Analysis: WMD terror commission starts up. United Press International. June 2, 2008. http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2008/06/02/Analysis_WMD_Terror_Commission_
   starts_up/UPI-23021212420462. Accessed June 6, 2008.