Even more scary, did you know that any Member who ascends to a security sensitive committee in Congress, as either the Chairman or Ranking Member (they are from the opposite Parties), gets what is called SCI clearance which is an even higher clearance than TOP SECRET?

This new Democrat-majority Congress is headed by some of the most radical liberals to ever hold Leadership positions. And I believe their agenda on national defense could greatly damage our national security and put us and our families in harm's way -- either intentionally or unintentionally. So I think we have a right to have them checked out.

For example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) actually wants to put Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) on the Homeland Security Committee. This is the man authorities recently discovered had socked away $90,000 in cold hard cash, literally, in his freezer at home. Does hiding ninety large in unmarked bills in a freezer set off any alarms bells in YOUR mind?

And then there's Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) - who has been a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security. Hastings, you may recall, was convicted and impeached as a federal judge in 1989 for leaking wiretaps, lying under oath and bribery.

Anyone who works at the White House has to have a background check. Why not these Members? What's more, sometimes it is not just the Member who is the problem. Often it may be a staff member who has a dangerous political agenda. Maybe they don't hand the information directly to our enemies, but instead damage us through leaks to the news media about our intelligence plans or our next military moves. Bin Laden and his buddies just sit back and laugh. They don't need lots of operatives in America when all they have to do is watch our media and read our papers on the Internet.

And the terrorists also understand something that apparently some Members of Congress don't.that this drip, drip, drip of security leaks undermines us with our friends, as well as contributes to the decline of public support for our Global War on Terrorism.

As the leadership in Congress has changed and brought in some characters we shouldn't be very comfortable with -- we need to take a hard look at how things are being handled now. We need to tighten up every security loophole on Capitol Hill before more damage is done. What does that mean? At a very minimum we should:

• 1.) Check to make sure that the Capitol Hill orientation includes coverage of the process for handling security information and what TOP SECRET clearances actually mean.

• 2.) Make sure every office has a safe and the staff is trained on how to handle sensitive information when it comes into the office.

• 3.) Require background checks be done on any Member of the House or the Senate and their staff who would have access to classified or security sensitive information.

This should, at the very least, include all Members (and staff) who Chair or are Ranking Members on security sensitive Committees on Capitol Hill. This should also include all members of the House and Senate Leadership and their staffs.

If these background checks had been done on Congressman Mark Foley, Congressman Gerry Studds, Senator Bob Packwood and others who committed sexual indiscretions -- those offenses may have been uncovered early and dealt with as a security problem. Congressmen with those kinds of secrets to hide are vulnerable to blackmail and other pressures which actually could pose a security risk. We need to be protected from their character flaws.

As you might imagine, there are many on Capitol Hill (especially the Democrats) who will scream to high heaven and work to block such reforms. But remember, every staff person who joins the Executive Branch or works at the White House has to have a background check, so why shouldn't Congress and their staffs who are handling security information have to do the same?

Our very lives could depend on it.

Chuck Muth is President and CEO of Citizen Outreach and a member of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Board of Advisors. You can reach him at mailto:chuck@chuckmuth.com See more at http://www.citizenoutreach.com

Guest Commentary...