Government Executive - Authors - Geoff Earle

Treasury nominee to make Hill rounds before release of tax cut plans

Geoff Earle — Mon, 09 Dec 2002 00:00:00 -0500

The shakeup in President Bush's economic team could delay the introduction of the administration's economic stimulus package until mid-January, congressional sources said Monday.

Meanwhile, Bush Monday announced the nomination of CSX Corp. Chairman John Snow to replace Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who was forced out of his post Friday. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer declined to predict when Bush would offer his economic plan. "I would not rule anything in or out in terms of timing," he said Monday.

The administration for weeks has been compiling tax cut ideas that could be presented to Congress, and Bush is "continuing to review his options" as to the substance of any plan, he said. Fleischer said the president expects his advisers to "speak freely" and offer "unvarnished opinions."

Asked whether Snow would help develop the economic plan, which was already in the works at Treasury, Fleischer responded, "He may have some role," but Snow's first priority pending his confirmation was to make courtesy calls to Congress so he can "hit the ground running." Fleischer also dismissed reports that the White House intended to unveil an economic package as early as this week. "That was never in the president's plans," he said.

Congressional sources said the administration to date has floated a range of tax cutting ideas. Most of them are not new, sources said, and the administration has yet to significantly narrow its options. Among the proposals the administration is considering: reducing the "double taxation" of dividends and the rate of taxation on dividends; accelerating income tax rate cuts; making expiring tax cuts permanent; raising the deduction for capital losses; hiking retirement contribution limits; and increasing the amount of expenses that businesses can write off. "I don't think they've decided on anything specifically yet," a Senate GOP leadership aide said. "They're still working on trial balloons."

A House GOP aide said Snow would want to reach out to people on the Hill before unveiling a new package that he has not had time to review yet. "He's going to need to make some contacts before they move this," the aide said.

The Senate GOP aide said that for a stimulus bill to have sufficient impact, it must encourage major investors to take risks and create jobs. "They aren't the guys working on the factory floor. It's the guys that own the factories," the aide said.

Several Democrats are promoting a payroll tax holiday-an idea for inclusion in a tax cut package that has also been supported by the Business Roundtable, a group that Snow once headed. The Senate aide said administration officials and lawmakers need to assemble a package that would do what is necessary, while getting enough votes to pass. "There's what we need to do politically, so the Democrats don't come in and grandstand," the aide said.

Snow is not new to public service, having served in various agency posts during the Ford administration. In 1972, he was assistant general counsel at the Transportation Department. After leaving government service briefly in 1973 to teach, he returned to Transportation later that year, serving as deputy assistant secretary for policy, plans and international affairs and then assistant secretary for governmental affairs. He held the latter position for a year, becoming deputy undersecretary of the department in 1975. From 1976 to 1977, Snow was administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Amelia Gruber contributed to this report.

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Homeland debate may be on slow track in September

Geoff Earle — Fri, 09 Aug 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Even though congressional leaders held out hope last month that they could quickly push legislation to create a Homeland Security Department through the Senate in a matter of days, there are signs that action could be slow-going when Congress returns.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., told reporters before the August recess that the Senate should have stayed in town if necessary to complete the bill.

Now, some GOP leadership aides warn that because the underlying legislation is complex-affecting tens of thousands of federal employees and numerous agencies-it could take considerable floor time, while at least one senior Democrat is working to slow passage.

When the Senate returns to session in early September, it will debate a motion to proceed to the homeland security bill. Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will control the debate time for opponents of the motion. Byrd has warned against rushing ahead without carefully considering the ramifications of creating a new department, and helped persuade Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., not to try to tackle the bill before the break.

Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and ranking member Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., will control the debate time for proponents. If the motion to proceed passes, as is expected, the Senate will take up the bill Wednesday, Sept. 4.

A number of amendments to modify the department's jurisdiction could be offered, while heated fights over labor provisions that have drawn a presidential veto threat are anticipated.

"The homeland security bill should have passed the Senate before August," said a Lott spokesman.

"We hope the Senate Democratic leadership will help us pass a bipartisan homeland security bill immediately, and not let it get bogged down in legislative quicksand." He continued, "Sen. Lott believes the debate should not revolve around partisan turf fights, but will allow the president the flexibility to create a Homeland Security Department that will help Americans feel safe."

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Senate likely to postpone action on homeland bill

Geoff Earle — Fri, 26 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

A flurry of activity at the end of the week has caused Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to reshuffle his priorities in the last week before the August recess, with quick action possible on a number of important pieces of legislation.

With new agreements on a handful of conference reports, Daschle said that no longer is there enough time to act next week on homeland security legislation, a priority for the president.

"I have no expectation any longer that we can complete our work on homeland security" before the recess, Daschle said. Daschle said he hoped to at least take up the bill before the recess.

But in an effort to keep pressure on the Democrats, Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said, "I think we should even stay here over the weekend or into next week if that's what it takes."

Lott, who previously has frowned on imposing arbitrary deadlines on the legislation, said he would like to be able to meet the "goal" of completing action by Sept. 11. He said that at a minimum, the Senate should act on procedural motions and take up the bill when it returns.

Daschle, however, wants to focus attention on Medicare prescription drug legislation-which Lott characterized as being "in park."

Told about Lott's comments after a news conference today, Daschle warned, "If we don't get a deal on Medicare, we'll definitely be bumping into next weekend, or possibly the week after."

A Senate GOP leadership aide said there was "a political utility for having vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbents in Washington, while many House Republican candidates are already holding campaign events today."

House GOP members getting a head start on the recess because of House adjournment this week include some of the party's top Senate candidates, such as Reps. Greg Ganske of Iowa, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and John Thune of South Dakota.

Daschle said the Senate will stay on prescription drug legislation until September if necessary. He said he would like to take up the conference agreement on renewing presidential trade negotiating authority if possible next week, but noted that the bill will face several procedural hurdles, and could take up the entire week.

Lott said there was an agreement to take up the fiscal year 2003 Defense appropriations bill by next Wednesday, and that the bill should take a day or two, with amendments. He said it might be possible to act on one or two other spending bills next week.

Lott noted that the Senate is now making progress in moving presidential nominations, and could move scores of nominees next week. But he then linked the issue of nominations to action on the 2003 Energy and Water appropriations bill, saying the Judiciary Committee has "basically shut down" and continues to "savage outstanding men and women and minorities."

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Senate panel rejects move to loosen civil service protections

Mark Wegner, April Fulton, Brody Mullins, Geoff Earle, and Charlie Mitchell — Wed, 24 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The committee voted 10-7 to defeat an amendment offered by ranking member Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., that would have restored some of the managerial flexibility sought by the administration that Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., left out of his draft of the bill.

Lieberman said existing civil service laws should apply to the department's employees. He was joined by all panel Democrats and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who charged that the White House plan is "too broad."

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, also voted with Democrats to defeat Thompson's amendment.

Still, Thompson and most Republicans said it is important for the president to have the flexibility to establish an agile agency. Creating the new department is "something like an elephant on roller skates trying to learn to juggle," Thompson said. "We need innovation and flexibility."

On the House side, Republican leaders Wednesday expressed growing confidence that they have addressed concerns among rank-and-file members about civil service protections in the homeland bill and now are poised to pass the legislation by an overwhelming margin.

The GOP leaders have received strong backing from President Bush, who was scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon with separate groups of Republican and Democratic lawmakers to discuss labor protections and other lingering issues.

"There's more work to do, but we've made great progress over the last 24 hours," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who served on the select committee that fashioned the legislation due to come before the House Thursday. Portman said leadership is meeting legislators and "spelling out" the labor protections in the bill, which he claimed go beyond those in legislation that created the Transportation Safety Administration last year.

"The only reason we're still not there," Portman said of efforts to develop a consensus, "is because the [federal] employee unions are still not there. But I hope they'll be there at the end of the process..."

Portman said the bill would provide workers with full Title V protections and spell out civil rights protections, but stressed that managerial flexibility on personnel issues and limited authority to transfer funds within the department were essential.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said he is watching to see whether negotiations produce anything acceptable to Democrats.

"There are discussions taking place," he said. "We'll have to see what they bring to the table."

But one labor official said there were "no serious talks" under way and suggested Portman was circulating proposed language changes that were "worse than the original language."

Labor groups are pressing their case on Capitol Hill and at the grassroots level. A spokesman for moderate Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., who met with Bush Tuesday, said his office was being inundated with calls from union members in his Buffalo district. He said Quinn was still anxious to "find a middle ground" on the labor language.

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Senate chairmen take aim at Lieberman on homeland bill

Brody Mullins and Geoff Earle — Tue, 23 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

CongressDaily Monday.

Levin favors establishing a new directorate for intelligence within the new department, according to an aide, but would make the directorate the focal point for the "receipt"-rather than the "analysis"-of information.

The change is intended to allow the current intelligence-gathering structure to stay essentially in place, rather than creating new analysis functions that Levin feels could be duplicative within the department.

Levin, a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, will propose the change Wednesday during the panel's markup of the legislation. The new intelligence-gathering powers are a central element of the bill proposed by Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who is leading the Senate's effort to approve the department.

Levin joins a handful of other influential Senate Democratic committee chairmen who-like House Republican committee chairmen before them-are voicing opposition to parts of the homeland bill under the purview of their committees.

The concerns indicate that Lieberman's decision to keep his own counsel about some of the legislative language during a hasty drafting period could leave his bill vulnerable to changes in committee and on the floor.

House Republican leaders have confronted identical friction from turf-conscious committee leaders during the two weeks they have worked on the bill.

To keep the bill free of undue influence from those committee leaders, House leaders established an ad hoc Homeland Security Committee to write the legislation.

Last week, the Homeland Security Committee approved legislation that attempts to split the difference between the Bush administration's plan and the recommendations of a dozen committee chairmen.

The House Rules Committee will decide Wednesday whether a handful of affected committee chairman will get the opportunity to try to amend the bill Thursday, when it comes to the House floor.

The most troubling amendment for House leaders could come from Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, who hopes to employ his 75-member panel to prevent the Coast Guard from being moved to the new department.

On the other side of the Capitol, Democratic committee chairmen are beginning to raise similar issues as Wednesday's Governmental Affairs panel vote nears.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for example, is working with Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and others on a letter to the administration about ways to make the new agency more open and accountable to the public.

Leahy spoke at hearings about the need to make the agency subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.

According to his spokesman, Leahy "has warned the administration not to use the new department as cover, as an excuse for blanket exceptions from things such as FOIA."

While Leahy's office would not comment on the letter, his spokesman acknowledged discussions were ongoing with other senators about such issues.

Leahy also has joined Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., to urge changes to the bill's provisions on uses of the National Guard.

Meanwhile, Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Jeffords, I-Vt., has requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency remain outside the new department.

Republicans have raised concerns, as well. Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine hope to add language to the legislation to ensure that the Coast Guard would continue focusing on traditional non-security functions, such as search-and-rescue operations.

Stevens, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, also is working with Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., to remove language from the White House proposal to give the director of the new department broad flexibility in spending congressionally appropriated funds.

In a sign that Lieberman understands the power of fellow committee chairmen, he left the spending provision out of his bill, choosing instead to allow Byrd and Stevens to write that section.

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Defense spending bill headed for Senate floor

Geoff Earle — Tue, 23 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"I want to do that before we go out," Byrd told CongressDaily. "I'm not doing it because he wants it, however."

Byrd said he also wanted to take up the Interior appropriations bill on the floor next week and planned to mark up the five remaining appropriations bills in committee by the end of the week.

"We're moving the appropriations bills," Byrd said.

Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., have been chastising Democrats for the Senate's failure to pass more than one spending bill so far this year.

Byrd also said he wanted to pass the fiscal 2002 supplemental conference report, and even said he would like to see the Senate get to the 2003 Labor-HHS appropriations bill.

A GOP leadership aide said Republicans would be willing to let the Interior spending bill come up before the Defense appropriations measure, provided that Democrats make a commitment to take up the Defense spending bill.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who sets the schedule, has said he will insist on completing prescription drug legislation before the August recess. He also plans to bring up legislation to create the Homeland Security Department next week. He has said, however, that he hopes to move spending bills on a "dual track" with other legislation.

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Unions pleased with civil service protections in Lieberman bill

Geoff Earle and Charlie Mitchell — Fri, 19 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Representatives of federal employees' unions said they are satisfied with the labor provisions included in the proposal.

"His language will protect civil service rights and grandfather collective bargaining agreements for employees who are transferred into the new department," said one union source, who added, "Lieberman was thinking through the implications [of a new department] long before the president even made his proposal."

The House Homeland Security Committee voted Friday to implement much less far-reaching labor protections in its version of legislation to create a Homeland Security Department.

Lieberman's bill, to be marked up next Wednesday, abolishes the Immigration and Naturalization Service and includes "beefed up" language on the scientific functions of the proposed department.

The proposal shifts the Customs Service, Coast Guard and Transportation Safety Administration into the new department, along with the portion of the Animal and Plant Inspection service that deals with quarantine inspections at points of entry. It would also create a National Office for Combating Terrorism within the White House and require Senate confirmation for its director. The legislation also includes extensive immigration reforms.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., urged Lieberman to reconsider proposals they term "counterproductive" to change some of the functions of the National Guard.

In a Thursday letter to Lieberman and Governmental Affairs ranking member Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., Leahy and Bond expressed concerns about a section granting the Guard a "lead role" in domestic defense, "thereby pre-empting ongoing defense authorization committee work and agency deliberations."

The letter from the co-chairmen of the National Guard Caucus stated that giving the Guard such responsibility for preventing and responding to threats "would severely detract from the Guard's ability to sustain its longstanding mission to serve as the nation's primary military service."

Leahy and Bond said a provision to turn the Guard into more of a "domestically oriented, federally controlled constabulary force" is "troubling," and would "violate longstanding conventions against inordinate involvement of the military in civilian affairs."

Leahy, who has taken a long interest in civil liberties issues, and Bond, a former governor, also expressed concerns about granting a new Homeland Security secretary the authority to recommend structuring of the Guard.

The authors suggest instead that the legislation-which Majority Leader Daschle hopes to bring to the floor before the August recess-should contain a provision requiring the Homeland Security Department to coordinate with the Defense Department and governors about how to integrate the military, including the Guard, into efforts to prevent terrorism.

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House eyes creation of homeland security panel

Keith Koffler, Mark Wegner, and Geoff Earle — Wed, 19 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The Rules Committee met Tuesday to consider a rule for the resolution, although the measure could come to the floor Wednesday by unanimous consent.

The resolution is expected to spell out the size of the panel and a timetable for House action. According to one leadership source, the panel likely would consist of nine members, including five Republicans and four Democrats.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., already has tapped House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, to head the committee -- but declined Tuesday to discuss his timetable for moving the bill or naming other Republicans.

"We're not going to announce that until we get the resolution," Hastert said.

Rules ranking member Martin Frost, D-Texas -- who is also chairman of the House Democratic Caucus -- said he did not know which four Democrats that Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., would name to the panel. But he suggested the pool of candidates would be small.

"We've been told that it's a leadership committee, so I would expect there would be leadership on it," he said.

On the Republican side, possible committee members include House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, who has advocated a more coordinated homeland security effort in the House.

Although he deferred to Hastert on the timetable, House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Tuesday the House's objective would likely be to complete the homeland security bill by the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The goal is to have the bill on the president's desk for his signature by Sept. 11," Burton said.

Burton said achieving that deadline would require the House to complete its work by the "latter part of July" so that Congress could produce a final bill immediately after members return from its August recess.

Gephardt has been pushing for a Sept. 11 signing date. But Armey told reporters Tuesday that while House GOP leaders want to move expeditiously on homeland security, they have not endorsed the Sept. 11 date.

"We understand the symbolism of that," Armey said, but added, "It is more important to get it right than to get it done on that date."

In the Senate, Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Ct., plans to develop a substitute amendment that will incorporate the administration's latest homeland security proposals.

The Governmental Affairs panel already has passed a related bill, sponsored by Lieberman, on a party-line vote. The amendment could be added to the bill on the floor of the Senate.

Firing a shot across the Democrats' bow, Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., warned Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., Tuesday to provide Republicans with sufficient opportunity to participate in the process.

"If he tries to develop a bill that has significant changes from what the president proposed without Republican input, there's going to be a big, big problem," Lott said.

Lott referred to the evolution of energy legislation, which was shaped on the floor rather than in committee. He said a similar approach on homeland security would cause "all kinds of problems."

Meanwhile, bucking the consensus of support for the proposal that has been apparent so far on Capitol Hill, House Energy and Commerce ranking member John Dingell, D-Mich., questioned the utility of establishing a new department Tuesday -- declining to say whether he would support legislation establishing the new agency.

"We'll have to see what it looks like when we get around to voting on it," said Dingell, the House's senior member.

While offering to be helpful in developing the department, Dingell said his experience in Washington watching reorganizations had caused him to have some skepticism about the this latest proposal for a new agency.

"Reorganization doesn't always get you the results you want -- sometimes it gets you more confusion, more expense, more people and less work," he said.

Dingell spoke to a small group of reporters following a White House meeting between President Bush and the chairmen and ranking members of several committees.

Dingell said he made his point to the president, indicating the onus would be on Bush to try to make the department work.

One source knowledgeable about the meeting said Dingell compared the new agency to the Energy Department -- created in the wake of the energy crisis of the 1970s. Dingell characterized DOE as amalgamation of agencies with different "cultures" that never really meshed.

This source said that with the exception of Dingell, others at the meeting were mainly supportive -- though there were also concerns expressed about the transfer of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service -- APHIS -- from the Agriculture Department to the proposed Homeland Security Department.

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Senate in a hurry on homeland security bill

Keith Koffler, Mark Wegner, and Geoff Earle — Thu, 13 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

After a White House meeting Wednesday, Senate Democratic leaders said they plan to debate the measure in July.

"Hopefully--and I believe we can do it--[we will] get it passed in the Senate before we leave for the August recess," said Senate Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who spoke at the White House following a meeting between President Bush and 20 chairmen and ranking members of House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over homeland security.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., have said they will try to finish a bill by the Sept. 11 anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks.

Lieberman said a process under discussion would use as a base a bill already passed by his committee on a party-line vote. The committee then would work with the administration to craft a substitute amendment to modify the proposal to include some of the administration's other proposals. The bill then could be amended and considered on the floor of the Senate before the August recess, he said.

"It ought to go through the process to have the legitimacy and the bipartisanship," he said.

Lieberman later Wednesday provided further details, saying his Governmental Affairs Committee would solicit suggestions from leaders of Senate committees with jurisdiction to "feed" his panel's development of a substitute that could pass with bipartisan support.

Lott and Daschle met Wednesday to discuss how to move the proposal. Daschle is vetting the idea with his committee chairmen, while Lott is planning to meet with Republicans today.

Lott said he likes the idea, provided Daschle does not use his majority to write the bill in a partisan fashion--something Lott claims Daschle did on energy legislation. He said it would be unwise to try to write a bill of this magnitude on the floor of the Senate.

"You have to deal with a substitute based on what the administration has asked for," Lott said.

Lott criticized the idea of creating a new select committee in the Senate to oversee the reorganization of the agency.

"I think it might even slow things down," he said.

Bush pressed the lawmakers Wednesday to work together, and officials described the White House session as positive. "I don't really expect major turf wars," Lieberman said. Bush plans to hold a similar session with additional committee leaders next week.

Charlie Mitchell contributed to this report.

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Ridge to brief senators on proposal for new department

Keith Koffler, Mark Wegner, and Geoff Earle — Tue, 11 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The meeting, requested by Daschle, is open to all senators and will be a private session held in the secure Intelligence Committee chamber, according to a Daschle aide.

"He will brief us, we will ask questions, and this process will begin very deliberately--and hopefully very successfully," said Daschle, who announced the briefing after a meeting at the White House that also included Bush, Ridge, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.

Despite the conflict and turf fighting certain to accompany the upcoming debate over Bush's proposal, both the congressional leaders and the president pledged close cooperation.

Daschle said Bush's "specific proposal" for the department will be sent to Capitol Hill "within two to three weeks." Ridge said congressional leaders would, in "the next several days," work out the schedule of his formal testimony this year to Congress about the new agency. But Hastert said that, right now, there is not yet a "clear path on how we're going to do [it] or how we're going to process this yet."

Hastert reported that Gephardt suggested completing the process by the Sept. 11 anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, a goal Hastert indicated he would strive to meet.

House Intelligence ranking member Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated committee members will meet with Vice President Dick Cheney this week--and at some point with Bush--to discuss the role of the FBI and the CIA with respect to the new department.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, Tuesday expressed optimism the House could avoid partisan and jurisdictional fights on Bush's homeland security proposal and implement it without holding up action on the pending legislative business.

"I have no doubt this Congress will rise to the occasion and get the work done," he said. Armey said he was heartened by the tone of today's White House meeting. "I was encouraged by the unqualified commitment to achieving this end by both parties," he said.

Armey said GOP leaders would discuss how to move the plan through the House, but said he would defer to Hastert on an announcement. Asked about the possibility of his chairing a select panel on homeland security, Armey again deferred to Hastert. "If I'm asked to work on this project, I will work to be as effective as possible," Armey said.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who also attended the White House meeting, said he expects members of Congress to offer their own suggestions about how to structure the new department.

"The president understands there will be a lot of give and take in order to construct that," he said. Lott indicated he thought the Governmental Affairs Committee would be given primary jurisdiction over creating the new agency, and Governmental Affairs ranking member Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., said the "massive reorganization" would require "considerable" time for hearings in his committee.

"It's going to be something we're going to have to live with for years, so we need to do it right," Thompson said. He said he does not favor any time limits--such as Gephardt's Sept. 11 target.

As Congress asserts its role, new ideas could come from Republicans and Democrats alike. Lott said his "inclination" is that the FBI and CIA should continue to operate outside of the new Homeland Security Department - although some Democrats have suggested elements of the FBI and CIA should be placed under the authority of a new Homeland Security secretary.

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Turf battle is on in Congress over new homeland defense agency

Mark Wegner and Geoff Earle — Fri, 07 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"I'm sure there'll be 10 different committees that will want to have a piece of the action," said Senate GOP Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig of Idaho.

Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., added senators with competing jurisdictions already are jockeying for position.

"People are already saying --'That ought to be in my jurisdiction,'" Lott said. "There will have to be a period of assessing where the proper jurisdiction is."

In a nationally televised address Thursday night, Bush called on Congress to restructure the government by creating a Department of Homeland Security.

In a 13-minute speech, Bush warned that "thousands of trained killers are plotting to attack us."

As outlined by Bush, the new agency would acquire $37 billion and 170,000 employees from the agencies that it would absorb.

A dispute is already emerging over which congressional panel should authorize the creation of the new agency--handling issues ranging from border security to bioterrorism and some intelligence functions--and then oversee its operations.

Lott said his "automatic, internal, visceral reaction" was that the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee ought to take the lead in creating the new agency. The panel has played a prominent role in other agencies with a broad scope.

Senate Judiciary ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said his committee--rather than the Governmental Affairs panel--should have the primary responsibility.

"It's still a domestic law enforcement approach," Hatch said. "Naturally, I'd assume the Judiciary Committee would be the committee" to oversee the agency, he said.

Hatch said it would be best for one committee--his own--to have jurisdiction, rather than several panels overseeing a part of it.

Others on Capitol Hill are calling for creating an entirely new authorizing committee to oversee the agency--an idea Hatch dismissed.

"I don't think we need any more committees," he said.

A GOP aide speculated about an institutional bias against such an approach, as current chairmen argue against anything that would dilute their authority.

Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said he assumes his panel would have jurisdiction over the "adoption" of the agency. As for later oversight, "Once it's created, that's an interesting question," he said. "I'm not asserting jurisdiction for my committee over the department."

However, ranking member Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., was adamant that the panel should have jurisdiction.

"It's the creation of a new department, and that's the heart of that committee's jurisdiction, it seems to me," Thompson said.

Lieberman and Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Bob Graham, D-Fla., already have a bill pending before the Governmental Affairs panel to create a new Cabinet agency, and Lieberman said the administration's new plan includes many of his proposals.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said Congress might have to restructure its committees to mesh with a revamped administration.

"There will be a new authorizing committee on homeland security," he said, "and it may well be a House-Senate committee. This is an issue of war, and I think we might want to take a creative look at it."

Gregg said a "hybrid" committee between the two chambers might be the best way to sidestep jurisdictional squabbles and provide comprehensive oversight.

Gregg, who is ranking member of the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Subcommittee, said a good argument could be made for creating an entirely new appropriations subcommittee to fund the new department to better align with the administration.

"I don't think you're going to want to appropriate a new agency out of six or seven different subcommittees" that already have jurisdiction, Gregg said.

However, if Appropriations panel leaders opt to stick with the committee's current subcommittee configuration, Gregg said his own panel is best suited to handle the new agency.

"If we're going to stay within the 13 appropriations subcommittees, it's logical, since we've got State, Commerce and Justice, we'd probably pick up more of it than anybody else."

Another contender for chief jurisdiction could be the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, where Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., is ranking member.

Specter, who serves on Appropriations and Judiciary committees, warned: "I think homeland security is too important to be playing turf battles. My hunch is that it's going to be handled expeditiously."

Craig called for action during this session of Congress. Specter and Lieberman both are scheduled to attend a White House meeting with the president this morning to discuss the administration's proposal.

As similar questions confronted leaders in the House, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma met briefly Thursday afternoon to consider the implications. They agreed only to make decisions soon.

Emerging from the meeting, Hastert acknowledged the proposal would raise jurisdictional questions but said he first wanted to study Bush's proposal.

"It's something we have to sit down and talk about," Hastert said. Asked about the possibility of a new House Appropriations subcommittee, Hastert said there was "nothing to even talk about yet."

Hastert said the House would have to take up Bush's proposal immediately. "It's something he'll want us to get done this year."

After the meeting Armey downplayed the suggestion the new Homeland Security Department would touch off a series of turf battles and force some committees to give up jurisdiction.

"That's not altogether true. We haven't examined that," Armey said. "Right now, that's all under the heading of 'things to look at.' "

An aide for the House Government Reform Committee said Thursday that his panel would likely be the primary jurisdiction for implementing Bush's proposal, but other committees also might have jurisdiction over the process.

"It's something we've done a fair amount of work on ... because we knew there were going to be these sort of organizational changes," the aide said.

Watts also renewed his call for establishing a select House committee or task force to coordinate the House's homeland security work.

"You have all of these committee that have overlap on homeland security," Watts said. "There's no organization. We have had 125 hearings since Sept. 11, and there's no coordinated strategy."

In the Senate, Lott said he and Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., probably would need to meet to help broker competing jurisdictional claims. But Daschle, who was out of town Thursday attending his son's graduation from law school, will have to weigh in.

"Sooner or later, the majority leader is going to make a choice," Lott said. "He's got to say, 'You're the lead committee.' "

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Reorganization plan gains bipartisan support on Hill

Mark Wegner and Geoff Earle — Thu, 06 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"I don't see it as an about-face, I see it as part of a process," said one GOP aide.

House Intelligence Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who anticipated a "major restructuring of agencies," said only the administration could judge when to ask Congress for greater authority for Ridge's office. "If we had jumped out there early with legislation, we could have made mistakes along the way," Chambliss said.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., released a statement saying he found it "encouraging" that Bush planned to make the proposal, and that many in Congress for coordinating domestic security under a Cabinet position, while saying it was "essential" that an independent commission be created to look into the Sept. 11 attacks.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., who said White House Chief of Staff Card informed him of the announcement in a telephone call Thursday, said he was eager to work rapidly and with bipartisanship to revamp the nation's homeland security defense and elevate the Office of Homeland Security to a cabinet-level position.

However, Gephardt reminded reporters that Democrats have been pushing for months to give homeland security director Tom Ridge budgetary and statutory authority to prosecute the war on terrorism.

"We're nine and a half months after '9-11.' We have made some progress but not enough," he said. Gephardt said the United States was the "new front" in the war on terrorism.

Key players like Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham, D-Fla., said they were only informed Tuesday that the White House planned to make the proposal.

Graham added, "I think it's important to have an agency that is dedicated to homeland security and that doesn't have to go around begging people to make personnel [and] resources available to get the job done."

Some members of Congress said the creation of a new homeland security department could require a shakeup of the congressional committee structure, and several warned of a drawn-out process where overlapping jurisdictions must be overcome.

"There's no question there's territorial imperative," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif. "I would hope we could put it aside to really do what's best."

A GOP leadership aide said the key issues to be worked out would be which committees would oversee the new agency, which panels would draft new legislating creating it, and which committee would confirm the new director.

"It's a daunting administrative challenge," said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. "This will take months if not years to finally work."

It is not yet even clear what Senate committee would confirm the new cabinet secretary. A GOP aide noted that the Governmental Affairs Committee has played a prominent role creating "broad-based, cross-cutting cabinet departments." Bennett said the best solution might be to create a new, separate committee on homeland security.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said there is need for a select committee to deal with homeland security issues, so that "old bulls who don't want their turf scratched" can play a role when appropriate.

Sources said Congress will play the main role in drafting whatever legislation is required to restructure the various government functions to go under the authority of the new agency, although the administration is preparing a fairly detailed plan.

"How on earth do you give one person cabinet status and budget authority over the 80 federal agencies that are now involved without involving the Congress?" asked Roberts. "I'm not sure you give [the director] statutory authority to run the entire budget of the United States."

A GOP aide noted that between border security, intelligence, and health functions to be included, 88 congressional committees and subcommittees have some jurisdiction involved in the new agency.

"There's no question this will be one of the most complicated undertakings of legislation in a long time," said the aide, who compared the scope of the effort to President Carter's effort to reorganize the energy industry and President Clinton's major healthcare plan.

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Senate debate on supplemental could be long, bitter

Geoff Earle — Tue, 04 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"The upcoming week will go about as smoothly as the last seven weeks for Sen. Daschle," warned one GOP aide.

The aide blamed the majority leader for provoking "unnecessary fights" with Republicans on the $31 billion bill marked up by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The aide cited the inclusion of language giving Cabinet status to Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge's office and language requiring the president to spend from a contingency fund.

The aide also criticized Daschle's threat to consider adding an amendment creating an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks, and faulted the bill for exceeding the president's spending request.

"These are all things that slow down the bill," said the aide. "You're threatening our troops in the field, our security in airports and our grandparents' Social Security checks."

Sources predicted Republicans would offer numerous amendments to the bill.

Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels is scheduled to meet with Senate Republicans Tuesday. A Republican leadership aide said Daniels would urge them to restrain spending on the supplemental.

Asked about the meeting, a GOP aide responded, "There's always the possibility of the Senate and the administration working together," although it was unclear whether the hand being extended would be grasped or "slapped away."

Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., predicted the Senate could complete action on the supplemental within a few days. And Democratic aides have said it remains possible that an amendment establishing an independent commission to investigate the attacks would be offered, although so-called hate crimes legislation that follows the supplemental might be a better vehicle.

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House Democrats urge Cabinet-level homeland security agency

Geoff Earle — Tue, 21 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., endorsed legislation proposed by House Intelligence Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee ranking member Jane Harman, D-Calif., and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas.

"The homeland security director should have budgetary ... [and] operational authority," Gephardt said.

Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Lieberman is planning to mark up similar legislation Wednesday.

Gephardt also said it was "absurd" that the administration has not allowed Ridge to testify before Congress. "It has been nine months after Sept. 11 and Tom Ridge has not brought forth a strategy for homeland security," Gephardt said. "And more than that, he can't come down and talk to us."

Harman said the administration has yet to conduct a national terrorism threat assessment or present a unified anti-terrorism strategy. "Even if he comes up with a strategy six weeks from now, he won't have the clout to enforce it," Harman said.

House Appropriations Committee ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., said President Bush's spending requests have failed to match the administration's public commitment for adequate homeland security funding, and said Ridge must carry more weight with the Office of Management and Budget.

"We need someone with cabinet status in charge," Obey said. "I think Mr. Ridge would have been strong enough to live up to the administration's statement on spending whatever is necessary for homeland security."

Gephardt also said he was not backing off statements he made last week Thursday, when he challenged the White House to be more forthcoming about what intelligence it received before the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I'm going forward. I'm 'up-tracking' on what needs to be done," Gephardt said. "This is a failure of our national government, and we've got to do better."

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Bush defends actions in light of new Sept. 11 details

Keith Koffler and Geoff Earle — Fri, 17 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

President Bush Friday defended himself for the first time since revelations Wednesday evening that he had been warned before Sept. 11 that al Qaeda terrorist groups might try to hijack airplanes. "Had I known that the enemy was going to use airplanes to kill on that fateful morning, I would have done everything in my power to protect the American people," Bush said during a Rose Garden event.

But, even as the White House said it would cooperate with congressional investigators, Bush and White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer began criticizing Democrats who are questioning the president's actions in the period leading up to Sept. 11. "You know what's interesting about Washington--unfortunately, it's the kind of place where second-guessing has become second-nature," Bush said.

Fleischer sought to demonstrate the Democrats, too, had knowledge that the country was at increased risk. He quoted Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in July 2001 that "intelligence staff have told me that there is a major probability of a terrorist incident within the next three months." Fleischer said this raises the question: "What did the Democrats in Congress know, and why weren't they talking to each other?"

Feinstein reportedly responded today that she did not have details that the administration had and that the information was too vague to be of specific use. Fleischer indicated the White House was supportive of a congressional investigation, asserting that the intelligence committees should conduct the probe, but did not rule out that others could investigate the matter as well.

Senate Republicans today also accused Democrats of politicizing the apparent intelligence failures, while several Democrats continued to call for creating an independent commission to examine the issue. "I think both [Senate Majority Leader Tom] Daschle, D-S.D., and [House Minority Leader Richard] Gephardt, D-Mo., went over the line [Thursday]," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., referring to the two Democratic leaders, who each called for the president to turn over classified documents about what he knew before the attacks. McConnell said of Democrats: "I think they are salivating at the opportunity to try to bring the president down. They've tried that a couple of times, and they're going to try that again." McConnell said the most "credible" way to deal with an investigation was through the bipartisan intelligence committees.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who spoke on the Senate floor about the subject Thursday, said Friday she supported creating a special commission to look into the matter, but added, "I do not favor people who jump to conclusions, point fingers, and play the blame game."

Sens. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have introduced a bill to create a commission and have discussed adding it to other legislation, such as the Defense authorization bill.

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Senate considers bundling budget bills

Mark Wegner and Geoff Earle — Thu, 09 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The idea would be to combine the fiscal 2003 budget resolution with an increase in the federal debt limit--which is considered a must-pass item--and with the president's fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said he has discussed the idea with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said Thursday he is "open" to the idea.

"The days are ticking by here, and the workload keeps getting increased," said Conrad, who added he is "prepared to go to the floor with the budget resolution that has passed the Budget Committee."

But Conrad noted the Senate has seen its schedule delayed on a host of other issues. "We keep getting pushed back. I do think we've got to examine all options," he said.

Lott, referring to the budget resolution, debt ceiling and supplemental, said, "We've got to figure out how to deal with these three issues in a relatively short period of time."

Nevertheless, sources said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., does not support combining the controversial budget measures with the supplemental bill in the Appropriations Committee, although Byrd would defer to Daschle about what happens on the floor.

It is unclear what the political benefit might be to combining the measures. Conrad appears to lack the 51 votes needed to pass his budget resolution. The supplemental is expected to draw strong support because of its funding for the war and homeland security. An increase in the debt limit can be a difficult vote, but one the administration will insist Republicans support.

Asked how the package might pass, Conrad said, "I think it would take a bipartisan vote to get this done." Republicans have been skewering Democrats for failing to meet the April 15 statutory deadline for passing a budget, warning that failure to do so would wreak havoc with the appropriations process. The package would be debatable and amendable in the Senate, and could take up considerable floor time. Conrad said the idea, which initiated with Republicans, was to move a package before Memorial Day.

Conrad also said that expiring budget provisions that allow legislators to raise points of order against legislation that violates pay-as-you-go procedures would also be included. He said he wanted to reinstate the discretionary spending cap in the package as well.

On Tuesday, Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., introduced budget process legislation that would renew the expiring provisions and spending cap.

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Ridge briefs small group of senators on homeland security

Pamela Barnett and Geoff Earle — Thu, 02 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Ridge, who told senators his aim was to create a "smart, 21st century border," offered broad and unremarkable responses to the senators' questions--many of which focused on state-specific interests and concerns.

Senate Judiciary ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who organized the meeting, asked Ridge whether the administration had any "preference" with respect to border agency reorganization. Ridge said "a full range of options" was under discussion internally, including "everything from completely revamping the technological infrastructure" for better information sharing to putting in place "a very muscular border control agency." Ridge added that, "No final recommendation has been made to the president."

The bottom line, Ridge added, is "will it affect the safety of America?" He acknowledged that a "broad reorganization" would necessitate Congress' cooperation, not only legislatively, but because such changes are likely to affect committee jurisdictions, Ridge noted.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who described the meeting as a "press conference," admonished Ridge that "it doesn't take the place of coming before our committees."

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who did not attend because he was chairing another hearing at the time, criticized Ridge's decision to brief senators in a private meeting rather than testifying before the Appropriations Committee on "the very same day" that Byrd and Appropriations ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, had asked him to testify.

"It's obvious that this is a stunt," he said.

Byrd said the committee was trying to help the administration with its supplemental appropriations request, but that "the very person who is the president's point man--Mr. Ridge--is the person that we want before the committee … and we don't have the benefit of the knowledge of Mr. Ridge's plans."

Byrd continued: "I think it's tacky, and the only thing we can do is just move right ahead. The American people are the people who are being treated as fools, and they are not fools."

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Senator offers details on 'very personal' decision to leave

Geoff Earle — Wed, 13 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Thompson said he had told National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Bill Frist of Tennessee, because he wanted to ensure that Republicans could hold his seat. But "other than that, it was a very personal decision," he added.

Thompson said he had not told Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., until he had made up his mind.

Thompson has not decided yet what he will do next. "I'm going to get 10 months severance," he said, in a reference to the remainder of his term. "I don't have to worry about that for a while."

Thompson--who made a name for himself as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973 and as an actor in movie hits such as "The Hunt for Red October" and "In the Line of Fire"--did not rule out future acting roles.

"There always seems to be a part for a man my age who can look mean without trying," he quipped. "So maybe I'll still fit the bill." But Thompson said acting never was a full-time occupation for him, and "it never will be."

Thompson dismissed claims that he had grown bored with life in the Senate.

"I spent some of my best days here in the Senate," he said. "It's like anything else--it has its up sides and its down sides. If you're happy all the time around here, you're not paying attention."

He said he always had intended to limit himself to two terms; Thompson first won a 1994 special election to serve out Al Gore's term after Gore was elected vice president.

"There's a time and a place for everything, and I never intended on doing it all my life," he said.

With re-election looming, he said, it became clear that "it was either six years or out." He said he never had considered retiring immediately to allow Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist to appoint a Republican to fill his seat.

"People don't appreciate that sort of thing--it would have handicapped whoever got the appointment," he said.

Thompson said he has developed "relationships and interests" that he plans to pursue and singled out his work in international affairs. He also rejected a claim that he was comfortable leaving because he has a life outside Washington.

"Maybe it's that I want a life--maybe it's not that I've got one," he said. "I think this is the best job in the country, okay, but just not for a real long period of time, for me.

"I stayed up here for as long as George Washington did--eight years," he continued. "I don't think I need to try to outdo George."

While Thompson did not discuss the matter Tuesday, published reports have quoted friends as saying the recent death of his daughter, 38-year old Elizabeth Thompson Panici, played a major role in his decision to retire.

The Nashville-based Tennessean reported last weekend that Panici's death was the result of an accidental drug overdose. The newspaper report cited official reports showing the painkiller hydrocodone in her blood when she arrived at the hospital emergency room.

Reacting to the report last weekend, Thompson was quoted by the Associated Press as calling the Tennessean report "unfortunate...Every public official has to understand there's a price you pay, and for the most part it's appropriate. ... But there are lines to be drawn."

Lott, meanwhile, said Tuesday that Frist had kept him briefed about Thompson's deliberations, but that he had chosen not to approach Thompson.

"Frankly, I didn't want to make it easy on him," Lott said.

Lott said when Thompson was first mulling retirement last fall, he had offered to "make it worth his while to stay." And in September, Thompson announced he intended to seek re-election. But this time, Lott said, "I didn't try to talk him out of it."

Noting he was a fraternity brother of GOP Rep. Ed Bryant, Lott said Bryant--who is seeking the GOP nomination to replace Thompson--would make a good senator. Bryant attended the University of Mississippi after Lott.

Lott also is very familiar with former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, who has also announced for the GOP nod for the seat.

Lott said he had shared a house with Alexander on Foxhall Road in Georgetown back in 1968. "It almost killed me," Lott joked.

Lott said when he was married and working as the administrative assistant to former Rep. William Colmer, D-Miss., he shared the house with five bachelors--including Alexander, who was working for "Hard Henry Baker," a reference to then-Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tenn.

"Those guys--they partied at night, including during the week late," Lott said.

He revealed that Alexander--who went on to serve as Education secretary and twice seek the GOP nomination for president--was known to wear an armband with the name of a Bourbon Street bar called "My Father's Moustache," where he had played piano.

Lott said the housemates were a "capable group of guys," but the arrangement must have been something of a mismatch for the abstemious Lott.

"They partied hard," he said. After about three months, Lott recalled: "I said, `You guys are crazy. I'm married, and I'm too old for this. I'm leaving.' "

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Citing terrorist visa flap, Senate leader seeks Ridge testimony

Geoff Earle — Wed, 13 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D.W.Va., and ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, have written Ridge urging him to testify before their committee, but the administration has argued that Ridge--a former House member--has no responsibility to do so as an adviser to the president.

"He needs to come before Appropriations in particular and explain why things like this are happening," Daschle said.

Daschle said he was considering a series of options to induce Ridge to testify, including a subpoena, a resolution on the floor, or creating statutory authority for Ridge's post to make the position accountable to Congress.

Daschle said he would consult with Democratic committee chairmen and Republican ranking members, saying that Ridge's current position is "untenable and inexcusable."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Ridge should probably brief Congress on overall homeland security issues, but said, "I wouldn't expect him to testify on specific budget aspects, because he doesn't have the statutory authority."

Republican Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig of Idaho also said Ridge should testify about broad goals. "I believe that he needs to come and talk to all appropriate committees about what his plans are," Craig said.

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Senate puts aside partisan flap to pass resolution commending troops

Geoff Earle — Fri, 08 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., drafted a version of the resolution earlier this week and shared it with Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.

Lott told reporters that he suggested adding language that "we're committed to providing the funds to do the job." A Daschle spokeswoman described Lott's proposal as pledging full funding for the war effort.

That change--which recalls comments last week by Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., about the administration's defense budget request and subsequent comments by Daschle--apparently delayed an agreement on final resolution language.

Lott suggested that Democratic committee chairmen were involved in the delay.

After discussions among the Senate leaders, the following language, suggested by Lott, was included in the final draft: "The first priority of the Congress is to provide for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines the necessary resources and tools required for victory."

Daschle last week praised the conduct of the war to date, but also said that the United States will have failed if it does not capture Osama bin Laden and Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. Lott Thursday reiterated his criticism of Daschle's comments about the war, saying the comments were "inappropriate" and the timing was not good.

Senate Republicans Thursday continued to criticize Daschle for the comments he made last week.

GOP Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig of Idaho said that Daschle's statements were "not well received ... As a result, this resolution appears to be an attempt of trying to get back in the good graces of the public."

The original resolution drafted by Daschle also stated that, "The Senate stands united with the president in the ongoing effort to destroy al Qaeda." A GOP aide said that some Democrats have not been "too excited" about supporting the language with respect to the president or the budget.

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GOP leader on management issues announces retirement

Geoff Earle — Fri, 08 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

"I simply do not have the heart for another six-year term," Thompson said in a statement.

In announcing last September that he had decided to seek a second full term in the Senate, Thompson attributed his decision to the changed situation in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But Republican leaders, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Bill Frist of Tennessee, had urged him to run again. Thompson's decision to retire came after his daughter, Elizabeth, died Jan. 20 from a brain injury following a heart attack. She was 38.

Thompson's unexpected announcement requires Republicans to defend another open seat in their battle to recapture the Senate--in a state that President Bush won by just a 51-47 percent margin in 2000.

Republicans now must defend a total of four open Senate seats this year. "No one was going to run against Thompson as it was," said a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "Republicans weren't going to have to spend a dime, and now the Republicans are going to have to be on defense."

Thompson's decision creates a vacancy on the Governmental Affairs Committee, where he served as chairman from early 1997 until the Democrats retook control of the Senate last year. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is the next most senior Republican after Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who already serves as Appropriations ranking member. Collins, who served as a Governmental Affairs staff member before entering the electoral arena, is seeking re-election to a second term this year.

Thompson, a onetime top aide to former Majority Leader Howard Baker, R-Tenn., came to fame as minority counsel during the Senate's Watergate investigation in 1973. He was a leading trial attorney in Tennessee before being elected to the Senate in 1994 by defeating then-Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper.

Thompson was initially chosen in a special election to fill the seat of former Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn.--who had been elected vice president--and then won election to a full term in 1996. In his first campaign, Thompson ran as an outsider, traveling the state in a red pickup and wearing casual work clothes. His appearances in numerous movie roles did not hurt, either.

Thompson has made accountability in federal agencies a major part of his agenda. As Governmental Affairs chairman, he pushed lawmakers and other government leaders to hold agencies accountable for results by tying their budgets to performance goals. Last year, Thompson asked the General Accounting Office to assess agencies' annual performance plans and reports under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act and issued a comprehensive report detailing mismanagement in the federal government as a whole and at individual agencies.

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White House briefs Congress on contingency government plan

Lisa Caruso and Geoff Earle — Tue, 05 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle had told reporters last week he had not been made aware of the East Coast site where the administration has been rotating a complement of staff since Sept. 11's terrorist attacks. Daschle said he learned about the facility through media reports.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, have criticized the administration for failing to keep Congress informed of the facility.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Tuesday there is a longstanding conflict between the administration and Congress during times of war over "who controls the flow of information and how." He said he hoped leaders could decide on a "modus operandi" so that leaders are "kept informed, without jeopardizing our effort here," adding, "It's a long conflict, so there's going to have to be some lines of communication."

Besides Daschle, today's briefing included President Bush, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., as well as White House congressional liaison Nicholas Calio and Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

Daschle afterwards said the briefing clarified the contingency plans that are being made to deal with situations that would disrupt the government. He said that the questions discussed included what circumstances would trigger it, how it would work and what agencies are involved. He also appeared to endorse the use of the facility.

"It's not a shadow government. It's simply just a contingency plan" that needs to involve each branch of government, he said. Daschle said last week that Congress has established a location of its own where legislators could meet if they were unable to assemble in the Capitol.

At a second White House meeting, administration officials told House GOP leaders to expect the fiscal 2002 anti-terrorism supplemental by March 18, according to a Republican source. House leaders had urged the Bush administration to send the package, which is expected to carry a double-digit price tag, sooner so it could be used as the vehicle to carry legislation to increase the statutory debt limit.

The Treasury Department calculates the debt ceiling could be breached as early as the end of the month, and has called on Congress to raise it by $750 million.

Fearing backlash from both voters and Republican budget hawks, GOP leaders want to move the debt limit bill as soon as possible, and see the supplemental as the only "must-pass, must-sign" vehicle on the horizon.

A GOP source said the administration has not made a final call on whether to split the supplemental into homeland security and defense pieces, although it is likely it will be remain in one package.

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Senator places holds on Transportation nominees

Geoff Earle — Thu, 14 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Fallout from senator's battle with Treasury secretary continues

Geoff Earle — Mon, 11 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

harsh exchange with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill at a Budget Committee hearing last week.

Lott was asked on "Fox News Sunday" about Byrd's treatment of O'Neill. Byrd scolded O'Neill for questioning congressional prerogatives and procedures, and faulted the administration's budget plan for including a political cartoon.

At one point, he told O'Neill: "You probably should have had a good study course in American history before you came here. And you've been in this town one year. I've been in this town 50 years. With all respect to you, you're not Alexander Hamilton." Hamilton was the first Treasury secretary.

Asked about Byrd's conduct, Lott responded: "I thought the whole exchange was somewhat strange and bizarre ... Look, senators have a right to ask questions of witnesses and to be aggressive in [their] questioning, but we also are elected officials to the United States Senate. We need to always make sure that we conduct ourselves appropriately and project a positive image and that, you know, we're courteous in the way we treat our witnesses."

During a later appearance on CNN's "Late Edition," Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., defended Byrd.

"I think he was powerful in his presentation, and I don't fault him at all," said Daschle. "I think that he, like every other senator, has a right to express himself, and he did it, I think, with extreme appreciation of his role as a senator from the Budget Committee just this week."

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Differences on key Hill issues remain after Bush address

Keith Koffler, Mark Wegner, Geoff Earle, Charlie Mitchell, and Stephen Norton — Wed, 30 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Delivering his first formal State of the Union address, Bush said, "When America works, America prospers, so my economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs."

The President was interrupted 77 times by applause during a 45-minute speech that was part national pep rally and part sober assessment of military and other challenges ahead.

Bush urged support for his tax, trade and energy policies, but also stressed health care and retirement security--traditional Democratic themes. Bush said he wanted to address the domestic agenda "in the same spirit of cooperation we have applied to our war on terrorism."

Bush put in a strong plug for an economic stimulus package that includes extended unemployment benefits, and for accelerating and making permanent the estate tax repeal and other tax cuts passed last year.

A top Senate GOP aide observed: "The President is creating a domestic policy foundation based on his popularity. After this speech it's going to be hard for the Democrats to score any points against the President on the economy."

Senate GOP Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig of Idaho said, "The President said, `Tom Daschle, let's get these issues to the floor, give them an up-or-down vote.'" Bush did not mention Senate Majority Leader Daschle by name, but for months, Republicans have denounced the South Dakotan as the chief obstacle to stimulus, energy and other legislation.

While Bush did not specifically mention the Enron collapse, he asked Congress to pass "new safeguards" for employee retirement plans.

The GOP aide said Bush had "inoculated" Republicans by mentioning a range of domestic issues, including prescription drugs and retirement security.

However, House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demonstrated that bipartisan support for the war effort does not translate into a free ride at home: "We cheer him and applaud him for prosecuting this war. In economic [policy], I think the speech was lacking. The one thing that we know is that the Bush economic policy, which he promoted last year, has not promoted economic growth."

Delivering the televised Democratic response moments after the president finished speaking, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., commended Bush for a "strong and patriotic speech" and said there was "no daylight between" Republicans and Democrats in the war on terrorism.

Gephardt eagerly embraced the notion of a partnership on the domestic front, saying, "I refuse to accept that while we stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the war, we should stand toe-to-toe on the economy."

But the Democratic leader stressed that the nation's litany of needs had not evaporated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"For all the things that have changed in our world over the past four months, the needs of our families have not," Gephardt said.

Gephardt pushed for patients' rights, pension reform "that protects workers from the next Enron," a minimum wage hike and a $10,000 tax deduction for college tuition, and he repeated his call for a bipartisan economic summit at the White House in February.

Gephardt also urged the public to turn up the pressure on Congress for campaign finance reform.

Republicans in recent weeks have come to believe they have the upper hand politically on the economic stimulus issue and hope a strong, public push by the President will prove decisive in the Senate.

"I believe eventually the Democrats will figure out this obstructionist thing is hurting them politically and we get a decent stimulus bill," said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.

But Rep. Robert Matsui, D-Calif., a senior Ways and Means Committee member, said: "I don't think [Bush's] power translates ... to the stimulus package. I don't think the public is there on the stimulus--they don't care about it."

Sen. John Breaux, D-La., a key moderate, said that in order to pass a stimulus bill: "They've got to be involved from the get-go [at the White House]. Otherwise, we're going to flounder."

But House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said: "The President has offered a stimulus package. We've passed that in the House. It's time for the Senate to act so we can get back into conference."

Regarding Bush's overall approach to the budget, Hastert said: "We know that we're in an economic downturn... We're at war ... and we're going to have to spend some money to get us out of the recession."

Bush's call for permanent enactment of last year's tax cuts drew cheers from K Street. Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and a leader of the Tax Relief Coalition, said the business community was "absolutely delighted" that the President mentioned the issue in the speech and promised the business community was in "action mode" to pass such legislation.

But Ways and Means ranking member Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said the country would fall off a "fiscal cliff" 10 years from now, once the tax cuts backed by Bush and enacted this year are fully phased in.

Rangel said the idea of making tax breaks permanent was unrealistic and irresponsible--especially in light of the ambitious spending agenda Bush embraced in his speech.

Indeed, Breaux expressed astonishment at the call for new spending. "I did not see any suggestion for holding the line," he said.

Rangel dismissed Bush's support for expanded jobless benefits, noting that GOP opposition to the comprehensive approach proposed by Democrats helped doom a stimulus bill last year.

Meanwhile, GOP moderates on Capitol Hill were pleased by the president's commitment to develop a prescription drug benefit as part of broader Medicare reform.

"I am encouraged that he is working with us to provide seniors with an affordable drug plan as part of an effort to strengthen Medicare," said GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Added GOP Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware, "I applaud President Bush for his concentration on other domestic priorities in the area of strengthening Medicare, lowering the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors ... speeding up a full economic recovery, and creating jobs for all Americans."

Matsui, however, said the President was "a little too clever" in his prescription drug proposal because "he knows it can't be done fiscally ... The problem is he'll score political points with the speech. He'll come out of this better than he went in."

Bush spoke fondly of the successful and bipartisan effort to pass education reform last year, prompting Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to remark: "The education effort was a prime example of how we could find common ground and work together. That is the model that ought to be followed, particularly in the area of prescription drugs and patients' rights."

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