U.S. House releases 9/11 Commission Review Report
Published 3:06 pm Wednesday, September 9, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the 25th anniversary of the events of 9/11/2001, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a 48-page report titled, “Review of the 9/11 Commission.”
According to the press release, “Over the past year, the Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the 9/11 Commission Report and the status of its implementation to assess the progress our nation has made in strengthening its national security posture and to examine how the threat landscape has evolved over the past twenty-five years.”
The report reviews the past 20 years following the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and evaluates the success of the recommendations and their implementations. It also “highlights gaps that persist in today’s increasingly complex and evolving threat environment. It is intended to serve as both a retrospective assessment and a forward-looking roadmap. It underscores the importance of sustained vigilance, robust oversight, and continued adaptation in the face of established and emerging risks.”
“The overriding principles of the Committee’s recommendations are that the modern threat environment requires whole government cooperation, strong congressional oversight, and a well-equipped Intelligence Community that is both effective and accountable.”
The threat environment has explicitly been expanded to Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVE), who “often do not exhibit indicators similar to foreign actors, and their attacks may involve lawful activity, such as acquiring firearms, vehicles, knives, or licit material to build improvised explosive devices; require minimal planning; and leave little to no warning. As a result, prevention depends heavily on cooperation among federal agencies and state and local law enforcement, community reporting, and behavioral threat assessments, all while Americans’ civil liberties are protected.”
While the wording of the report and recommendations point to increasingly integrated surveillance and data gathering and analysis, so, too, did it frequently remind the reader of the importance of “keeping the American people safe and secure, from threats foreign and domestic, while defending the cherished liberties so many generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”
Going further, the report also stated, “the United States need not—and must not—replicate the surveillance architectures employed by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.” “Accordingly, any recommendation in this report intended to reduce unnecessary barriers between intelligence collection and law enforcement must be accompanied by rigorous oversight, appropriate safeguards, and a heightened sensitivity to the privacy, rights, and civil liberties of Americans.”
The 20 Recommendations are:
- Establish Mission-Centered and Task Force-based Intelligence Integration as an IC-Wide Standard
- Professionalize Open-Source Intelligence Collection and Analysis
- Fully Implement Biometric Entry-Exit System
- Build Interoperable Information-Sharing Systems Across the IC
- Measure Success by Mission Outcomes, Not Agency Ownership
- Develop and Expand Joint Training and Career Incentives Across the IC
- Formally Establish Counterintelligence as a Career
- Review Current Classification Processes
- Strengthen Partnerships with State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement Agencies and Fusion Centers
- Increase IC Collaboration with the Private Sector
- Address “Black Swan” Risks Posed by AI Advancement
- Reexamine Idea of National Intelligence Reserve Corps
- Deepen IC Lessons Learned Program
- Require all Members of Congress, Senators, and Congressional Staff who Hold Clearances to Take Classified Material and Counterintelligence Training
- Deepen Relationships Between IC Authorizers and Appropriators
- Reauthorize FISA 702 and Extend the Periods of Reauthorization
- Create a Statutory Definition for Counterintelligence
- Ensure the National Counterterrorism Center Remains the Lead Integrator for Counterterrorism Throughout the IC
- Support IC Elements Sharing Counterintelligence Information with the National Counterintelligence and Security Center
- Expand Capability to Leverage Emerging Technology
