Republicans immediately accused Democrats of needlessly delaying popular legislation intended to better protect Americans from terrorism. The GOP-led House passed the measure last week, with leaders hoping to get the bill to Bush by Sept. 11.
But Byrd, chairman of the Appropriations Committee and, at 84, the longest-serving Democrat in the Senate, questioned whether lawmakers have "completely taken leave of our senses" by moving too fast.
"If ever there was a need for the Senate to throw a bucket of cold water on an overheated legislative process that is spinning out of control, it is now," Byrd said from the Senate floor.
He was backed up by Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who told reporters later the Senate should take a bit more time to fully examine the president's plan to merge 22 agencies into a single Cabinet department with 170,000 employees. Democrats especially oppose Bush's proposal for management flexibility, which they say threatens federal unions and civil service protections.
The plan, Daschle said, "is the single biggest reorganization of the federal government in my lifetime." Forcing the Senate to pass it in a couple of days just before the August recess, he added, "asks a lot of our judgment."
Instead, Daschle said the Senate would probably take preliminary legislative steps at the end of this week and go into full-bore debate when Congress reconvenes in September. It remains highly probable that the bill will pass this fall -- even though Byrd said it shouldn't be done this year at all.
Still, the Senate Republican leader, Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, said each day that goes by without the new department is a day Americans would be less secure from terrorist attacks.
"I think that's unfortunate; I think it's dangerous," Lott said. "We should be on this issue today."
The White House also weighed in, with spokesman Ari Fleischer telling reporters that Bush is disappointed the Senate will put off action.
"It means they'll have unfinished business that they'll have to attend to this fall," Fleischer said.
In part, a crowd of important measures pending before the Senate makes full consideration of the Homeland Security bill all but impossible in a single week. A Medicare prescription drug benefit, a major trade bill and key spending bills are all on the agenda.
Byrd, however, listed numerous problems he sees in the bill itself, including what he called assaults on congressional authority, the possibility of a chaotic transition period and the likelihood of much greater costs than the $3 billion over five years already projected.
Byrd also charged that Bush, who had previously opposed Democratic proposals for a new agency, abruptly shifted gears in June when political heat was increasing over pre-Sept. 11 intelligence failures.
"So the proposal was crafted in the bowels of the White House, cloaked in secrecy and presented by an administration trying to regain political ground," Byrd said. "Those are hardly conditions that should inspire the Congress to rally around a presidential proposal."
Copyright 2002. Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
