House GOP may delay vote on aviation security measure

House Republicans may delay a vote on aviation security set for Wednesday until Thursday, to allow members to attend the Wednesday funeral of former Rules Chairman Gerald B.H. Solomon, R-N.Y.,who died last week, Republican leadership aides said.

But the one-day delay also could give Republicans a chance to count votes on the controversial issue of whether airport security personnel should become federal workers.

"That's a decision that won't be made until [today]," said one GOP leadership aide of the schedule change.

The aide said the ongoing whip count was not "a strong determining factor," but added, "An extra day wouldn't hurt."

Meanwhile, House Democrats still developing a strategy for their substitute bill have encountered a sticking point of their own, but it appears likely that they will offer a modified version of the Senate bill, several aides said.

Solomon, a Republican who represented a Hudson Valley district in New York for two decades until he retired in 1998, died Friday of congestive heart failure. Solomon's funeral will take place Wednesday morning in Glens Falls, N.Y. A number of House leaders and members are expected to attend.

House Republicans and many Senate Republicans oppose full federalization of airport security personnel, but Democrats are pushing for it.

The Senate bill, which would federalize most screeners, passed 100-0.

For House Democrats, a potential sticking point could be whether members are willing to acquiesce to the Senate bill, which gives oversight authority to the Justice Department, or whether they will insist on Transportation Department control.

House Democratic aides suggested that their members were leaning toward putting DOT in charge of some aspects of the system. But because many key members had not returned to town Monday night, meetings were scheduled today to finalize the decision.

Both the GOP bill and one offered by House Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn., would put DOT in charge.

Giving the jurisdiction to the Justice Department "wasn't our choice," said a senior Democratic aide. But the aide stressed that the most important thing to Democrats is ensuring that the screeners become federal workers.

House Majority Leader Gephardt is holding a news conference today with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who cosponsored the Senate bill, and Reps. Greg Ganske, R-Iowa, and Robert Andrews, D-N.J., who introduced the Senate bill in the House.

A statement indicates that they will try to rally support for a bill putting "federal law enforcement agents in charge of airline and airport security."