Pay, union issues up in air in House homeland security debate

As lawmakers rush to meet a Friday deadline for action on President Bush's landmark proposal to create a new Department of Homeland Security, it remains unclear how House lawmakers plan to resolve a number of prickly disputes, such as how to attract and retain key employees and whether they should be allowed to be represented by labor unions.

One senior House Republican said he doubted the final legislation would strip union representation away from federal workers who are currently union members, but stressed that the proposed department needs flexibility to deal with "security risks" and other issues.

"I think this is being blown out of proportion because we can work through the Government Reform Committee to come up with good civil service protections," the lawmaker said, adding: "We need practical alternatives. We also need ways to retain these [employees]. We need to provide a carrot. We may want to come up with a lucrative compensation package."

Another major concern is how the proposed Homeland Security Department would gather intelligence information without direct authority over the FBI or CIA.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., is considering an amendment to the administration plan to resolve that issue, although her spokesman said Harman has not settled on a remedy.

"The general problem is that intelligence is not being shared among agencies," the spokesman said. One possible solution would be to create a central repository for intelligence information based in the Homeland Security Department.

Meanwhile, the heads of key law enforcement agencies slated to become part of the new Homeland Security Department urged Congress Tuesday not to split them into pieces, as some lawmakers have suggested. Officials from the Customs Service, Coast Guard, Secret Service and the just-created Transportation Security Administration told a House Judiciary subcommittee that all of their duties are intertwined and would suffer if not transferred entirely to the new agency.

"The greatest danger to any Coast Guard mission would be to fracture the Coast Guard," said Adm. Thomas Collins, the service's commandant. "The Coast Guard has always met its full set of responsibilities, regardless of department location."

Also on Tuesday, House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., pushed the committee's planned markup of legislation to create the Homeland Security department from Wednesday to Thursday to give panel members more time to work on the legislation.

A committee spokesman said lawmakers are simply working out "last-minute details" and that "it's fair to say that the committee will not change the framework of the president's proposal."

Still, the delay means the lead House committee on the president's proposal will have little wiggle room as it takes up the comprehensive reform plan.

The House Agriculture Committee has scheduled a Thursday vote on the sliver of the plan it oversees, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., indicated he is leaning toward a Thursday markup as well.