Bush Presses His Version of New Security Agency
President Bush pressed Senate Democrats to meet the challenge of terrorism by agreeing to his proposal for a Department of Homeland Security that would have broad power to “move people and resources to meet new threats.”
In his weekly radio address, Bush said the bill now before the Senate was unacceptable and he favored a compromise by Sens. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and Zell Miller (D-Ga.). Bush said their measure would meet his demands for flexibility while protecting the 170,000 federal workers expected to staff the new agency.
The White House put new energy into a public relations and lobbying campaign to influence the votes of a few senators said to hold the key to establishing the Cabinet-level department on the president’s terms. One White House official said Bush is within a single vote of success.
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