The center is also needed to assure that agencies provide state and local officials with the information they need to prepare for possible terrorist attacks, the chairman, former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, told the House Armed Services military procurement subcommittee.
"You must get information to where it can do the most good and a simple color-coded warning that says we're in a high level of concern ... it just isn't enough," he said, referring to the Bush administration's system of terror alerts.
Gilmore gave lawmakers a preview of the fourth annual report of his commission examining preparations to deal with terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction. The report is due in December. The commission's first reports warned of the likelihood of devastating attacks, like those that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.
His appearance follows the steady increase of warnings from U.S. officials that more major attacks are likely, especially if the United States invades Iraq. Concerns increased this week with disclosure that intelligence agencies have been picking up fresh signs of a new attack and the release of an audiotape, which analysts believe proves Osama bin Laden is alive.
It also complements a report issued by another panel of former government officials, which warned that the United States remains dangerously unprepared to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
Gilmore's 19-member panel, made up of past and present federal, state and local officials, said the government should end an "artificial distinction between foreign and domestic terrorist threats."
It recommended creating a national counter-terrorism center, made up of analysts now working for the CIA, FBI and other agencies. The center "would be responsible for the fusion of intelligence, from all sources, foreign and domestic, on potential attacks inside the United States."
An inquiry by the House and Senate intelligence committees has said that intelligence agencies' failure to share information caused them to miss clues that might have led to the Sept. 11 plot.
The center would work with the Homeland Security Department that Congress is likely to set up.
Gilmore also called for the federal government to set standards for equipment used by emergency crews in responding to national emergencies, such as protective gear and radios.
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