Move underway to authorize Homeland Security Office

A group of House members may try to add an amendment to the Bush administration's anti-terrorism bill next week to authorize the White House Office of Homeland Security, according to several House sources.

The move comes as the White House and several congressional Republicans signaled that Congress should not rush to authorize the new office.

"The President just does not see the need for it," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said today, he said, comparing the Homeland Security Council to the National Security Council, a White House office whose director needs no confirmation.

Fleischer declined to comment on whether outgoing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge should have control over other agencies' anti-terrorism budgets, indicating the White House view on that would become clear next week when Ridge assumes his post.

Still, a growing body in Congress believes legislation is needed to give Ridge the authority he needs - and Congress the oversight it craves.

"If he is not granted a certain amount of authority, he is not going to be very effective," said a spokeswoman for Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., the latest legislator to introduce a bill on the topic. Reps. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., and Ike Skelton, D- Mo., also have advanced proposals. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who plans to introduce legislation on the topic, will hold a hearing on the issue next week.