Bush Lays Out Security Plan

Ten months after the twin towers came crashing down, President Bush Tuesday laid out clear lines of authority and responsibility for his proposed Department of Homeland Security. He appealed to Congress not to stand in his way.

"I'm confident that members of both parties and members of both chambers know that the security of our nation is the goal," said Mr. Bush at a Rose Garden ceremony attended by congressional leaders of both parties.

The new Cabinet-level department is the centerpiece of the president's "National Strategy for Homeland Security," outlined in a 90-page document released Tuesday.

CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reports it's a broad plan that also proposes to create "national standards for driver's licenses," to lessen the chance terrorists could get fake Ids; and so-called "Red Team" that would plot theoretical terrorist attacks, and then figure out how to thwart them.

Both parties want to pass legislation to create the department in time for the Sept. 11 anniversary and say it's in everyone's interest that they work together.

"I constantly make the point that the terrorists won't check our party registration before they blow us up," said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.

But what the president gets may be substantially different than what he wants. House committees voted last week to take the Coast Guard, Secret Service and part of the INS out of the plan. And the Senate has new concerns about the erosion of both the Freedom of Information and Whistleblower Acts in the name of national security.

"Simply saying, 'Well this is homeland security, the laws don't need to apply to us and we can take a different view of the Constitution than the rest of the country' - that doesn't work," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

The White House blueprint describes a shadowy, omnipresent threat of terrorist attacks from al Qaeda and other extremist groups. America faces "a new wave of terrorism, potentially involving the world's most destructive weapons. ... It is a challenge as formidable as any ever faced by our nation," it says.

Some of the more fundamental changes would involve the military. The president suggests that Congress perform a "thorough review" of the Reconstruction-era "posse comitatus" law that bars use of the military in civilian law enforcement.

The document does not say in precisely which situations such a change might apply, saying the "threat of catastrophic terrorism" makes it necessary to "determine whether domestic preparedness and response efforts would benefit" from military involvement.

The strategy also contemplates giving the federal government greater authority to deploy the National Guard, which is now under state control. This would be coordinated under the new U.S. Northern Command, which is to "update plans to provide military support" — including maintaining order or loaning equipment — in cases of terrorist attacks or natural emergencies.

Under a section titled "the costs of homeland security," the strategy notes that Mr. Bush asked Congress for $29 billion this year and will ask for $38 billion next year for the new Homeland Security Department. These totals, the document says, "must be viewed as down payments to cover the most immediate security vulnerabilities."

The strategy seeks authority for the president to shift money within departments to meet evolving threats. In the case of the Homeland Security Department, Mr. Bush has asked for the ability to move up to 5 percent between programs without congressional approval.

"This comprehensive plan lays out clear lines of authority and clear responsibilities — responsibilities for federal employees and for governors and mayors and community and business leaders and the American citizens," Mr. Bush said at the Rose Garden ceremony.

"With a better picture of those responsibilities, all of us can direct money and manpower to meet them," the president said.

"There's not a lot new here," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that is considering the new department. "But it's a valuable statement. It's a charter for action by the Congress."

That committee's top Republican, Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, said the strategy would enable lawmakers to ensure "our goals are consistent with the means by which we want to get there."

Release of the strategy came on a third day of hearings on the new agency proposal before the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, which will write legislation for the full House to consider next week.

Several House committees have recommended changes in the president's plan, such as excluding the Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency from the new department.

Four Cabinet members — Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta — appeared before the select panel Tuesday to lobby for Bush's plan.

"It is needed, and it is needed now," Mineta said.