Senator: DHS reorganization will not hinder spending bill talks

Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said Tuesday that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's plans to rearrange the department would not bog down House-Senate conference negotiations on the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security spending bill.

Cochran said the conferees would work with department officials during negotiations on the proposed reorganization and added that appropriators could later shift funding. "We could reprogram money after we pass the bill," said Cochran. "The administration has to be given the flexibility to more efficiently manage this responsibility."

But he also conceded that several lawmakers could resist Chertoff's proposals. "I'm hopeful that we can support [the proposal], but there may be some we don't," he said.

Chertoff plans to eliminate and consolidate divisions that have received specific funding levels in both the House and Senate spending measures by the time the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

One proposal that lawmakers rejected earlier this year was the Bush administration's request that Congress raise the airline passenger ticket fee by $3 dollars to pay for federal screeners and screening technology at the nation's airports.

When Chertoff announced his reorganization plan last week, he reiterated the need for the ticket fee hike, and he renewed the request Tuesday before the Senate Commerce Committee. But Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., reminded Chertoff that "both houses have spoken to that very loudly. I see no reason why you should pursue that."

Chertoff responded that he would continue to ask lawmakers for the fee hike, saying "we can ask the public to give us a couple of dollars" to speed up plans for advanced screening technology. He argued it would benefit the airline industry to give passengers greater convenience and a stronger sense of confidence in aviation security. "I'd like to continue to work with Congress," said Chertoff. However, Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and House Homeland Security Chairman Chris Cox, R-Calif., oppose the idea.

Commerce Committee members Tuesday commended Chertoff for his restructuring plans, but many also outlined concerns with the department's refocused mission.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., pressured Chertoff to weigh in on House-Senate conference negotiations for his budget to dole out most of the funding for first responders on the basis of risk.

"We're fighting a battle, and I'm looking for your help here," said Lautenberg. Chertoff last week asked senators to give him the authority to allocate 90 percent of first-responder grants on the basis of risk, but the Senate, where small states have more sway than in the House, rebuffed him by allocating just 60 percent according to risk. Commerce ranking member Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said he was worried about the effects of the realignment on rail, transit and port security.