Sept. 11 Panel Faces Several Pressures

An independent commission charged with investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is about to meet for the first time, and already there is an effort in Congress to increase its funding.

Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., and some of the victims' relatives say they doubt the commission can do a thorough job with only the $3 million authorized by Congress. Corzine proposed doubling the amount, to $6 million, in an amendment he filed Tuesday to a $390 billion spending bill being debated by the Senate.

The commission holds its first meeting in Washington on Monday, 16 months after the attacks.

It will have little more than a year to explore the causes of the attacks, preparations for future terrorism and the response to the airline hijackings that killed more than 3,000 Americans at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in southwestern Pennsylvania.

By comparison, a federal commission created in 1996 got two years and $5 million to study legalized gambling.
[more]

  thanks to Eschaton

Or, as Atrios puts it:

$70 million to investigate the activities of Clinton's penis. $3 million to investigate the attacks on September 11.

I guess that's Republican priorities for you.