The House planned Thursday to begin debating its version of the bill, with a key Senate committee working at the same time to complete its rendition in time for floor action next week.
Though there are major differences and some flaring partisan disputes, most lawmakers believe these will be resolved in the end to create the 170,000-employee Cabinet agency tasked with protecting Americans at home.
"This needs to be done," said Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.
Both bills would give Bush most of the agencies he wants to transfer, including the Coast Guard, Secret Service, Border Patrol, Customs Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the just-created Transportation Security Administration.
Assuming the House and Senate act in time, lawmakers say informal talks could resolve many differences while Congress is away on its August recess.
"There's a lot of talk about trying to reconcile the two during the break," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. "Hopefully, we can find some consensus."
Meeting with Democrats and Republicans on Wednesday at the White House, Bush kept up the pressure for swift action on "an incredibly important piece of legislation ... to make America a safer place."
Even so, some pitched battles await the House and Senate. Democrats adamantly oppose Bush's request for personnel flexibility in the new agency, saying it amounts to an assault on union collective bargaining and the civil service system. Bush and his GOP allies say it's vital to quickly meet emerging terrorist threats.
Many lawmakers from coastal states oppose transferring the Coast Guard, although some are willing to accept that if clear language is included in the legislation ensuring that duties such as marine search-and-rescue and fisheries management remain top priorities.
"What we are trying to do is safeguard the vital, life-and-death, traditional missions of the Coast Guard," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Another controversy involves proposed exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act regarding vulnerabilities disclosed by private businesses, which critics say keeps too many secrets. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved a compromise restricting the exemptions to specific records given only to the new department.
Democrats also said they would attempt to remove a provision in the House bill that delays by one year a requirement that airports screen checked luggage for explosives.
The Senate committee, meanwhile, decided Wednesday to tone down provisions in its bill that critics feared would have granted the new department broad powers over the CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies.
The legislation still would create an intelligence division whose analysis would cover all aspects of American life. Bush's plan focused on critical industries, public works and transportation systems.
Some senators had expressed concern that the original bill, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., was setting up an entity with total control over intelligence operations. Lieberman, however, said, "I think it would be a mistake ... to create a super-intelligence agency."
Even with the changes, Lieberman said the legislation improves on Bush's plan by creating a division that, for the first time, will coordinate and analyze all information from federal, state and local authorities.
"I think that is precisely what we need to prevent the disastrous pre-Sept. 11 disconnects from ever happening again," said Lieberman.
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