Republicans take issue with Bush Homeland Security proposals

House Homeland Security Committee Republicans disagree with a number of policy changes proposed in President Bush's fiscal 2006 budget for the Homeland Security Department.

In a document sent to the House Budget Committee, the Republicans highlighted potential sticking points between House authorizers and the administration that could surface when the panel marks up the department's authorization measure this year.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, also voiced her concerns in a letter last month to Senate budgeters, but she said recently her panel could wait until next year to draft an authorization bill.

While the House Republicans said they supported Bush's plans to merge agencies for more efficiency and accountability and create a new policy undersecretary at the department, they opposed other proposals, according to the "views and estimates" document signed by panel members earlier this month.

Specifically, the lawmakers balked at Bush's plan to increase passenger ticket fees to pay for security costs at the nation's airports. The proposal would add an additional $2 billion to the department's budget. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, whose panel has jurisdiction over that issue, has also voiced opposition.

The House Republicans also objected to a $50 million increase for a program to deploy countermeasures to shoulder-fired missiles. "This program is unauthorized in law and is consuming substantial funds," they wrote.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Chrsitopher Cox, R-Calif., and most of his GOP members agree with Bush's plan to combine grants for rail, port, nuclear and chemical faculties into one program, but the administration faces opposition from Collins and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska. Young, who has a seat on the Homeland panel, and Collins say the administration should have a separate program for port security grants.

The three lawmakers will also presumably tussle over the funding formula for first-responder grants this year.

The administration proposed shifting more money to urban areas and giving each state 0.25 percent of minimum funding from a smaller state and local grant program.

Collins has proposed giving each state 0.75 percent of funding, reversing the administration's proposal by authorizing more money for the state and local program rather than urban areas, according to aides familiar with the bill. Collins' committee had planned to mark up her legislation this week but postponed the meeting.

Cox last year struggled to reach a deal with Young to give high-risk areas 0.45 percent of all the funding and other states 0.25 percent.

Young, in a dissenting view from his fellow GOP Homeland panel members, wrote to the Budget Committee that the administration's plan would "reduce minimum funding from about $14 million to $2.5 million for high-risk states and $7.8 million to $2.5 million for all other states."