Bush Demands Flexibility in Managing Homeland Security

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, September 08, 2002

Bush Demands Flexibility in Managing Homeland Security

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With the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks approaching, US President George W. Bush on Saturday urged the Senate again to give him flexibility and authority in managing the proposed Homeland Security Department.

"One essential tool this new department needs is the flexibility to respond to terrorist threats that can arise or change overnight," Bush said in Washington in his weekly radio address.

The new department must be able to move people and resources quickly "without being forced to comply with a thick book of bureaucratic rules," he said.

Bush proposed in June the creation of the Cabinet-level agency which will bring all or parts of about 22 federal agencies, including the Secret Service, Coast Guard and Border Control, under one roof.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in July, giving the White House broad authorities on its management of roughly 170,000 employees. The Democratic-controlled Senate, however, is at odds with the White House over Bush's insistence on allowing top officials more power over personnel issues.

Speaking for the Democrats, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat and chief sponsor of the Senate measure, saidlawmakers should not get distracted by differences in the bills.

"Those are side issues that ought to be put off for another dayand not be allowed to deter us from completing our urgent mission protecting the American people from terrorism at home," said Lieberman, chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee.

"Our proposed and the president's share the same mission, the same basic structure and the same sharp focus on results," he said.

Bush criticized the Senate for not giving him the management tools he seeks and thus limiting his ability to prohibit collective bargaining when national security demands it.

"I will not accept a homeland security bill that ties the handsof this administration or future administrations in defending our nation against terrorist attacks," he said in the radio address.

Despite the difference, Bush administration officials have voiced confidence that the two White House and Democrats will reach agreement on the proposal and get the bill passed before Congress recess for the November elections.

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