House chair seeks to trim undersecretaries in homeland proposal

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, on Tuesday indicated that the House Select Committee on Homeland Security would object to the addition of an undersecretary of science and technology in the new Homeland Security Department.

"We have to look at all of the proposals for undersecretaries," Armey, R-Texas, said when asked about the proposal approved in the House Science Committee's homeland security bill. "We think the administration proposal may be a little top-heavy in undersecretaries. Our whole idea was to try to diminish the amount of resources that are housed in D.C. and increase the resources in the field. So we want to look at that."

White House Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge on Monday showed support for the proposal in his testimony before the select committee, which Armey chairs.

Armey also showed flexibility on the Sept. 11 target date for Congress to complete work on the Homeland Security Department legislation, H.R. 5005. "It still targets that, be we do not feel we must make that or die," he said.

Speaking to reporters after the first panel of a select committee hearing on the new department, Armey said the committee expects to have its version of a bill by Thursday morning for members to review before the committee vote on Friday. That markup will go until they are done, he said. "I would predict we will be done at 10 a.m.-Saturday," he added. "Hopefully we won't be tied up forever in amendments."

When asked to react to the president's national strategy for homeland security released Tuesday, Armey said he had not read it, but said he would do so, adding, "What more strategy do we need?"

Armey downplayed the concerns of "many" in Congress that the president's plan would give too much power to the executive branch. He said he supports the proposal for the new department to have discretionary authority over 5 percent of its budget to spend how it chooses. "I do not believe that is excessive," he said.