Senate panel passes homeland security spending bill

The Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee approved its fiscal 2005 spending bill Wednesday, marking the first Senate action on appropriations bills.

The subcommittee, operating under tentative 302(b) allocations, approved $33.1 billion for the Homeland Security Department -- $896 million more than President Bush requested. Yet Democrats on the panel argued more funding is needed to bolster homeland security.

"The overall levels in the tentative allocation constrain our ability to address known threats to the safety of the American people," said Appropriations ranking member Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who also is ranking member of the subcommittee.

Considering the Bush administration's warning about terrorists possibly targeting upcoming national events -- such as the political conventions -- this summer, Byrd said the White House should have amended its fiscal 2005 budget request from its "anemic" 2 percent increase for Homeland Security over last year's level. Appropriations Chairman Stevens said he also wished additional funds were available, but said the bill balances fiscal constraints with security concerns.

The subcommittee's bill tracks the House version that is slated for floor action later today. It included a provision approved by the House Appropriations Committee that would prohibit the department from implementing a controversial data passenger program, known as CAPPS II, until privacy standards are met. Last year, GAO told Congress the program had not met seven of eight privacy requirements outlined in the law creating the initiative.

The Senate bill contains $5.2 billion for the Transportation Security Administration -- $2 billion more than the House bill. It appropriated $7.4 billion for the Coast Guard, while the House allocated $6 billion. The Senate bill contains the same amount -- $340 million -- for the transportation agency's new system to track foreign visitors entering and exiting the country.