Homeland Security panel to broaden oversight agenda

With the first-ever Homeland Security authorization bill wrapped up, the House Homeland Security Committee plans to hold hearings to develop legislation in areas such as chemical plant security, port security, cargo inspections and agriculture terrorism, the committee's ranking member said Tuesday.

The committee's majority and minority staffs have reached an agreement on several oversight areas to focus on during the summer, said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

"They're all a problem," Thompson said at the McGraw-Hill Companies Homeland Security Summit in Washington. "I think we're going to approach them as fast as we can."

A committee staffer for the majority confirmed the areas listed by Thompson will be addressed in upcoming hearings. The panel will hold a hearing on the threat of agro-terrorism Wednesday, and hearings on chemical plant security and port security are scheduled for June.

Last week, the House passed the first authorization bill for the Homeland Security Department, which was developed by the committee. Thompson said the legislation "wasn't the best." In a statement issued last week, he said "The overall bill is lukewarm and lacks the necessary provisions to close a large number of security gaps."

Thompson said the committee now will work on drafting stand-alone legislation that fills in some of those gaps.

Thompson and Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa.--who also spoke at the conference--said they are anticipating results from the departmentwide review that DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff is conducting.

"We don't have time for a honeymoon period," said Weldon, who is vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. "He better move quickly."