WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Saturday asked Congress to pass a reform of US intelligence services.
"I will continue to work with the Congress to reach an agreement on this intelligence bill," Bush said during his Saturday radio address.
"I urge members of Congress to act next week so I can sign these needed reforms into law."
The bill would put into motion several recommendations of a panel that probed intelligence failures on the eve of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
Backers of the bill are concerned that poor intelligence also led to conclusions that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, which have not been found.
The bill which, among other measures, calls for a national intelligence czar, ran into trouble last month after a key congressional ally of the Pentagon voiced objections to the legislation.
Currently, the Pentagon controls large parts of the intelligence budget.
The two houses of Congress, both of which are controlled by Bush's Republican Party, adopted differing versions of the bill. A compromise measure was due to be adopted in mid-November, but Republican leaders balked after the intransigence of certain conservatives.
Congress has a few days next week to pass the bill before recessing for the year. If it fails to do so, the legislation will need to be rewritten from scratch in the 2005 session.
12/04/2004 15:06 GMT - AFP