Senate 9/11 bill faces objections in House

The Senate is planning to move legislation to implement unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, but with provisions that appear to put the chamber on a collision course with the House.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was scheduled to mark up a sweeping 227-page bill Wednesday, but Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., announced Tuesday night it would be done Thursday instead.

Although Lieberman blamed inclement weather for forcing the delay, aides are likely to use the extra time to fine-tune the draft.

The bill by Lieberman and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, addresses homeland security intelligence and information sharing, grant funding for emergency responders and emergency communications interoperability.

It also includes provisions to prevent suspected terrorists from entering the United States, strengthen privacy and civil liberty protections and secure critical infrastructure.

"Securing our nation against the terrorist threat is the challenge of our age -- and it will be an ongoing challenge. With this bill, we are continuing the process," Lieberman said.

The Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday approved two bills aimed at implementing unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. One would make improvements to surface transportation and rail security; the other would beef up aviation security.

Both committees, however, avoided some measures included in the House-approved bill. Senate aides say many of the most controversial provisions in the House bill were never recommended by the 9/11 Commission.

For example, the Lieberman-Collins bill does not require all sea cargo to be scanned at foreign ports before being put on U.S.-bound ships.

A Senate aide noted that a maritime security bill signed into law last year requires the Homeland Security Department to conduct test programs at three foreign ports to scan all cargo containers. If the tests prove viable, cargo scanning can be extended to other ports.

The House bill gives the department three years to launch a system for the physical inspection of all cargo being put on airplanes inside the United States. The Senate Commerce Committee bill would instead require that cargo be screened within three years by using technology and information to determine which containers are high risk.

The Senate Commerce Committee also bucked the House by not giving Transportation Security Administration screeners collective bargaining rights.

Provisions in the House bill would cost $21 billion to implement from fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2012, the Congressional Budget Office reported recently -- well over half the department's current $34.8 billion budget. Critics say some of the costliest provisions are those not recommended by the 9/11 Commission.

The Lieberman-Collins bill does have some controversial provisions of its own, however.

For example, it would guarantee each state receive more guaranteed funding than the House bill through the state homeland security grant program, the law enforcement terrorism prevention grant program and the emergency management performance grant program.

The 9/11 Commission recommended doing away with state guarantees, saying all grants should be based on risk. The House bill would still give states guaranteed minimums, but at lower levels than proposed by the Senate.

"I believe the Senate bill is making progress in several important issue areas. However, I have concerns with the first responder funding formulas," House Homeland Security ranking member Peter King, R-N.Y., said. "I believe the Senate should follow the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, which gave the House formula an 'A.'"

The Lieberman-Collins bill would also disclose the total amount of funding for the nation's intelligence agencies, a figure that is classified today.

And the bill would authorize the creation of a $3.3 billion grant program to help state and local governments buy interoperable communications equipment. Critics say the objectives of the new program are being accomplished by existing grant programs.

If flare-ups over the draft are not enough to slow Thursday's markup, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he has more than 150 amendments to offer.

Notably, however, Collins will wait until floor debate to offer her amendment to delay implementation of the Real ID Act, which requires states to begin issuing secure identification documents by May 2008.