WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush was personally pressuring Congress to pass intelligence reform legislation stalled by GOP lawmakers, the White House said Friday.
Bush spoke by telephone Thursday with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., about the importance of the bill being passed next week and was sending a letter to Congress Friday reinforcing his appeal.
"The president made this a high priority," spokesman Scott McClellan said. "He wants to get it done and he wants to get it done now."
The bill, a House-Senate compromise measure, stalled in the House when Hastert declined to bring it to the floor for a full vote after two key Republicans on the negotiating committee objected to it.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., worried that putting overall intelligence oversight into the hands of a new national intelligence director would interfere with the military chain of command and harm soldiers needing real time intelligence. Key intelligence agencies are connected to the Pentagon.
McClellan said the military chain of command has been preserved.
"We're trying to work very closely, very cooperatively (with Congress)," McClellan said. "He (Bush) wants to get this done next week."
