Bush urges waiver of civil service rules in homeland department

President Bush urged Monday that the head of the proposed Department of Homeland Security be allowed to waive certain civil service protections for employees who are shifted into the new department.

"The new secretary of Homeland Security must have the freedom and the flexibility, to be able to get the right people in the right jobs at the right time so we can hold people accountable," Bush said during a speech to workers at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill.

Bush demanded that Congress approve the sweeping new freedom of action he had requested for the Homeland Security secretary, declaring that "new times" require "new thinking" about congressional restraints on administration activities.

The president's call for Congress to grant the secretary unique new prerogatives has drawn strong resistance from some lawmakers.

"The new secretary needs the ability to move money and resources quickly to respond to true threats," Bush said. "I understand why that may not happen sometimes in Washington ... appropriators may not want the executive branch to have the capacity to make decisions necessary to make the homeland department work effectively."

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer today indicated there is no change in Transportation Secretary Mineta's contention that the administration could institute new baggage screening procedures by the end of the year, as originally mandated by Congress. But Fleischer did not rule out the administration taking advantage of the increased breathing room if Congress extends the deadline.

"No matter what the law is, the administration will enforce it," he said.

The House Homeland Security Committee in its markup of legislation Friday agreed to extend the deadline until Dec 31, 2003. Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn., plan to offer an amendment that would reinstate the year-end deadline.

During an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said airports will not be able to meet the deadline.

"This is just a simple matter of being realistic and coming to terms with the reality of the situation," he said. "There's no risk that is more serious nor insidious than the risk of a false sense of security of believing your bags were screened by technology that simply is not reliable."