Lawmaker seeks clarification of military's 'broader role' in disasters

House Armed Services Committee ranking member Ike Skelton, D-Mo., wrote President Bush Wednesday seeking clarification of Bush's comment in his nationally televised speech last week that the armed forces should have a "broader role" in future domestic emergencies.

The statement has stirred some confusion on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have been uncertain whether it signals administration support of revising the 1878 Posse Comitatus law, which prohibits the military from performing domestic law enforcement missions.

"Either you intend to alter the means by which the Posse Comitatus Act is waived, possibly allowing the federalization of disaster response to occur more expeditiously, or you intend to press for a rewriting of this law or others," Skelton wrote.

"My question to you is whether efforts are under way to put your words into action."

Skelton also pressed the president on what policy changes, if any, he wants to make to expand domestic roles for military forces.

In addition, he asked what direction the Defense Department has received since the speech, which laid out the administration initiatives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.