House approves homeland bill; Bush to sign Monday

The House Friday afternoon passed the final version of legislation to create a Homeland Security Department, sending the bill to the White House for the president's signature.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., threatened to raise an objection to the House's approval of technical corrections to the bill by unanimous consent, seeking to convince House GOP leaders to take up a Senate bill that would have extended federal unemployment insurance benefits for thousands of jobless workers through March. But after a lengthy floor exchange in which Democrats accused Republicans of abandoning workers, Obey relented.

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., also raised and then withdrew an objection to a provision that will require lawsuits against vaccine additive makers to go through the more limited Vaccine Injury Compensation program.

President Bush Monday will sign the homeland security bill into into law. Bush reportedly will announce at the signing that he has chosen his White House homeland security adviser, Tom Ridge, to head the new agency.