Congress gets first look at Bush homeland security proposal

House leaders planned to gather Tuesday morning to meet with White House Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and receive the administration's proposal to overhaul the government and create a Homeland Security Department.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., and other House and Senate leaders were planning to hold a ceremony at which Ridge will present the proposal.

The White House refined the proposal over the weekend and is sending House members a detailed synopsis of the legislation, the Associated Press reported.

The House this week is expected to take up a resolution to establish an ad hoc House committee charged with moving President Bush's proposal through the House.

Hastert tapped Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, last week to lead the committee, although the panel's size and membership still has not been determined.

Once the bill is introduced in the House, it will be referred to the Government Reform Committee and other standing House committees with some jurisdiction over homeland security.

The ad hoc committee will be responsible for melding the various committee portions into a single bill and setting the terms of debate on the House floor.

Armey spoke Monday with a number of House committee chairmen about the process and timing for the bill, a spokesman said, saying Armey may elaborate today on how and when the House will move the bill.

Members of a House Government Reform subcommittee Monday raised concerns that the Bush administration's proposed department would divert resources from traditional domestic security programs.

"An intensive focus on homeland security cannot be maintained over the long run without coming at the expense" of law enforcement, drug interdiction, border security and other key government functions, Government Reform Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Mark Souder, R-Ind., said.

"Our challenge as we move through this process will be to determine how best to ensure the continuation and preservation of these missions within the new department," he added.

Also, Ridge told the U.S. Conference of Mayors Monday the proposed department would help local officials gather information and find resources to fight terrorism more easily, the Associated Press reported.