Science committee makes big changes in homeland bill

The House Science Committee on Wednesday voted to significantly change the Bush administration's bill to create a Homeland Security Department.

The committee passed its own version of the bill, adding an undersecretary for science and technology who would conduct and fund research and development, among other things. The amendment also creates a "coordination council" for R&D, comprised of all department undersecretaries setting R&D priorities.

The committee blocked the White House proposal to transfer the computer security division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to the new department.

In addition, the committee measure includes a bill, H.R. 1259, passed three times by the House, which would make NIST the consultant to government on computer security. But some in the tech industry, such as the Software and Information Industry Association, are concerned that the bill will lead to mandatory conformance assessments of commercial products.

Also in the committee bill is a proposal to create a volunteer corps of computer experts to assist local communities in the event of an attack on critical infrastructure networks or communications systems, referred to as a NetGuard in the Senate version, S. 2037.

The committee further added language that ensures the U.S. Fire Administration, when transferred to the new department, retains its distinct identity and purpose.

Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., sought to keep a tight lid on the amendments to the bill, but in some cases lost the vote. He said he wanted to avoid adding new centers to accomplish special interest goals. But ranking Democrat Ralph Hall of Texas countered that Boehlert was using that as an excuse to oppose amendments he did not like. "In the South, if a girl is tall and poor, she's called 'lanky,' " Hall said. "But if she's tall and rich, she's called 'statuesque.' "

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, offered an amendment to block the exemption from the Freedom of Information Act for businesses sharing security information. She agreed to withdraw it on jurisdictional grounds.

Amendments to the committee bill included asking NIST to carry out a program of measurements and standards development related to the detection of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats. It also designated that funds be transferred to NIST for the purpose, and mandates a standards review be undertaken with a report due in one year.

The committee also agreed to create a Homeland Security Institute, and said the science and technology undersecretary should decide which security classification is appropriate for new technologies. Furthermore, a homeland security science and technology advisory committee was created, to include emergency first responders and citizen groups.

Another amendment authorizes research on the psychological stress of terrorist attacks.

The committee also passed several amendments directly to the administration's bill, rather than to the replacement version put forward by Boehlert and Hall, since their version did not address the issues.

These amendments included transferring control of a satellite system for detecting wildfires from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and providing assistance for disaster decision-making for public safety personnel.

The committee also recommended that the Homeland Security secretary consult with NASA on the development of computer security systems and processes, since the space agency has expertise in satellite-technology research.