U.S. Senate Democrats yesterday rejected a Republican compromise on legislation to establish a homeland security department, which has been mired in debate for five weeks, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Oct. 2).

The Republican compromise, which would have modified a bipartisan-suggested alternative, would have preserved the authority sought by President George W. Bush to waive union agreements for employees of the new department (see GSN, Sept. 25).  It would also have mandated, however, that for the waiver to apply, an employee’s job must have “materially changed” through transfer to the new department.  The Republican compromise would have allowed the president to use the waiver in the event of such a job change or of a change in the threat of domestic terrorism.

The Republican proposal contained nothing new and would have weakened the labor protections included in the bipartisan alternative, said Ranit Schmelzer, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.).

“This is all show and no substance,” Schmelzer said (Curt Anderson, Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 4).

As Long As It Takes

Leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives said yesterday that they plan to stay in session until they pass the homeland security department bill.

“If it isn’t passed, we’re just going to stay until the election, and then we’ll be right back right after the election,” Daschle said.

The House also plans to stay in session in the event the Senate completes work on the bill, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said.

“If we have to come back one day a week to be in session to make sure that we are here, so that we can finish our work if the Senate does their work on homeland security, we will do that,” he said.

The Senate has made little progress on the homeland security bill since debate began in early September, according to the Washington Times.  Senate Republicans, supported by Senator Zell Miller (D-Ga.), have blocked five attempts to end debate, saying such a move would prevent an up-or-down vote on the White House proposal.  With the Senate scheduled next week to debate Iraq, there is no scheduled time to resume work on the bill before Congress is expected to adjourn Oct. 11 to campaign for the November elections, according to the Times.

Bush spoke out in support of the homeland security bill yesterday, saying he will accept no compromise on the hiring flexibility he has sought.

“The Senate must understand that I have a duty not only to protect the American people, but a duty to protect the prerogatives of the president,” Bush said during a Hispanic Heritage Month meeting of Republicans.

Democrats have offered their own version of the homeland security department bill, which is almost identical to the White House’s proposal, Daschle said.

“It’s down really to two things:  Should you have a right to belong to a union?  And if you’re fired, should some independent board have a chance to review why you were fired?  That’s really what we’re talking about here,” he said (Stephen Dinan, Washington Times, Oct. 4).

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