House speaker faces challenge on permanent Homeland Security panel

Two powerful House chairmen aimed Monday to spoil the effort of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., at an evening Republican Conference meeting to create a permanent Homeland Security Committee with redefined jurisdictional boundaries.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, planned to offer amendments to change the proposal, according to House sources.

Barton, who recently said the panel would become permanent over his "dead body," was expected to offer an amendment to create a Homeland Security panel in "name only," said one House aide. Barton and Young were unavailable for comment.

Several aides said that the House proposal circulated last week by the Rules Committee has been modified and that negotiations continued Monday.

Hastert has publicly stated his support for making permanent the committee, now chaired by Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., and the need for meaningful jurisdiction despite resistance from the committee chairmen.

The latest language, circulated Monday morning, would give the panel authority over the Homeland Security Department's internal administration and areas related to the department, such as border and port security, cybersecurity, intelligence gathering, and research and development. But opponents were able to protect some of their turf.

"[The proposal] draws to the new committee only jurisdiction directly related to our defense against terrorism," Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., wrote Monday in a letter to House colleagues. "Thus, it creates a primary committee while recognizing the other legitimate oversight roles of existing committees. It acknowledges the expertise and experience residing in other committees and leaves with them jurisdiction that may have a homeland security implication but not a direct policy relationship."

Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., successfully retained power over immigration policy and non-border enforcement issues, and a spokesman said he was satisfied and would support the Rules Committee plan.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., protected his turf over revenue generated by the Customs Service. And one House aide said Young scored a victory by retaining control over the Coast Guard, automobile safety, rail security and other transportation issues. The Homeland Security panel would have responsibility for aviation and maritime security.

Young repeatedly has expressed his disdain for the Homeland Security panel and its lack of experience to oversee transportation issues. Aides said Young would offer an amendment that would take back jurisdiction over all transportation safety issues, allowing the panels to share authority.

But Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., was expected to offer an amendment to give the Homeland Security Committee jurisdiction over homeland security-related aspects of the Coast Guard, along with entry visas and the Secret Service.

Members of the 9/11 Commission and families of victims of the attacks returned to Washington lobby for the commission recommendation to make the committee permanent. A 9/11 Commission spokesman said former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., vice chairman of the commission, planned to outline the case for a permanent panel.

"We hope that [the panel] would have more" power than outlined in the current proposal, the spokesman said.

Hamilton also was expected to call for bolstering the status of the House and Senate Intelligence committees by exempting their members from term limits, hiring bipartisan staff and upgrading the panels from select to standing.