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The State Of Security Policymaking
by Greta Wodele
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress and the Bush administration rushed to enact policies to protect the country from another tragic event. Policymakers consolidated 22 agencies to create the Homeland Security Department -- the third-largest Cabinet agency in the government -- and deployed numerous technical devices to bolster immigration enforcement, and border and transportation security.
But five years after the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, policymakers' zeal for action appears to have waned. While Congress this year enacted measures to extend established homeland security initiatives, lawmakers rebuffed appeals for new legislation.
Streamlining Oversight And Spending
Early this year, Congress followed the now-disbanded 9/11 Commission's recommendation and assigned permanent committees to oversee the Homeland Security Department. The House Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel have authority over the majority of the department, but other powerful committee chairmen retained parts of their jurisdiction over certain agencies and programs.
The two primary committees passed several small homeland security measures but did not agree to major legislation, including a reauthorization of funds for the department and its programs. The House approved a reauthorization bill, but the Senate did not consider one.
Congress did approve a $30.8 billion spending measure for the department. The bill cut $600 million for grants to "first responders." Overall, firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders will receive $3.3 billion in fiscal 2006.
The department also will receive $4.6 billion for aviation security, compared with $36 million for ground transportation security and $150 million for grants to protect mass-transit systems. Of the $36 million, $24 million is designated for administrative staff, $8 million for railway security and $4 million to track trucks carrying hazardous materials. Last year, Congress allocated $12 million for railway security.
Lawmakers approved the same amount of fiscal 2006 funding -- $150 million -- for rail and transit security grants as last year.
Less than $550 million has been provided to improve such security since the terrorist attacks, according to a May 13 House Appropriations Committee report on the spending bill. The panel said the transit industry estimates that $6 billion is needed for security training, radio communication systems, security cameras and access controls.
Congress also allocated $933 million for the Coast Guard's Deepwater program to modernize its cutters and helicopters with sensors and advanced communication equipment.
Quests For Common Ground
On matters beyond spending, Congress has struggled to reach agreement on security issues.
The 9/11 Commission last year urged Congress to change the funding formula for grants to first responders in order to distribute money based on terrorism risk rather than parochial politics. The House passed a commission-backed bill three times this year, but the Senate rejected a similar proposal. Senators from small states have rolled urban colleagues on the issue, arguing that even rural states need an adequate and predictable flow of money.
Urban legislators vow to consider the subject again next year. Their opponents -- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking Democrat Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut -- also plan to push for their legislative proposal, which they argue represents the best compromise between large and small states.
Terrorism risk insurance also remains on the agenda. House and Senate lawmakers this week might begin negotiations on legislation to extend the 2002 program before it expires Dec. 31. Insurance, real estate and other industries have been lobbying Congress to extend the program, which provides a federal backstop for private insurance coverage in the event of a terrorist attack. The groups believe the legislation is vital to stabilizing the economy during a crisis.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., recently expressed doubt that there is time for House and Senate negotiators to resolve the "substantial differences" in the chambers' bills. House conferees, led by Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, are eager to clear a bill after the House overwhelmingly passed its version last week.
The House bill would expand the original program to include group life insurance and attacks by domestic terrorists. Shelby and the White House oppose expanding the program.
Reauthorization of the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act is also on tap this week. Under a House-Senate agreement, the bill would let two controversial anti-terrorism powers expire after four years. The provisions authorize "roving wiretaps" focused on people rather than locations and permission for secret warrants for records from businesses and other organizations. A previous deal outlined a seven-year limit for those provisions.
The House on Wednesday is expected to approve the final bill, but the measure might be the subject of a filibuster in the Senate. If the filibuster succeeds, lawmakers are likely to resort to a three-month extension that would keep expiring provisions in place while negotiations continue.
The agreement has sparked opposition from six senators. "We believe that this conference report will not be able to get through the Senate, while the Senate bill would easily pass the House if its leadership would bring it to a vote," the senators said in a statement. They include Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Russell Feingold, D-Wis.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and John Sununu, R-N.H.
Troubles At The Borders
Border security and immigration enforcement also remain on the agenda. The House is expected to pass legislation this week, while the Senate is likely to debate a similar measure next year.
Under the House bill, U.S. companies would have to verify through government databases that their employees are not illegal immigrants. Within two years of enactment, every company would have to verify the status of all newly hired employees; within six years, they would have to check all employees. The measure would increase the authority of the government to deport both legal and illegal immigrants, and it would boost penalties for human smuggling.
The legislation also includes a provision to end the Homeland Security Department's "catch and release" program for illegal immigrants, and orders the department to craft a plan to secure the borders.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said recently that the department would continue to "move from catch-and-release to a catch-and-remove" policy next year. The secretary said the Bush administration is working with Congress to fill in the details of immigration legislation, including the president's plan for temporary guest workers.
The secretary repeated the president's argument that U.S. business needs for workers drive illegal immigration. The administration hopes temporary guest workers would eliminate that need.
Chertoff also mentioned that officials are debating the use of satellites and other advanced systems to patrol the borders. The department plans to issue requests for technologies to integrate with existing sensors and cameras on the border. And the secretary said the department's spending law for fiscal 2006 includes language to hire hundreds more border agents and to provide space to hold illegal immigrants.
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