House passes bill to improve agencies

The White House said it has concerns about the House bill.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives voted Friday to overhaul the nation's intelligence agencies along the lines recommended by the Sept. 11 commission, but the House bill also includes controversial law-enforcement measures opposed by the White House.
The House vote, 282 to 134, capped two days of bitter debate that contrasted sharply with the collegial approach by the Senate, which voted 96 to 2 earlier this week to enact the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations for revamping the structure of U.S. intelligence.
The Mahoning Valley's two lawmakers, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17th of Niles, and Rep. Ted Strickland, D-6th of Lisbon, both voted no on the plan. Nearby western Pennsylvania lawmakers, Rep. Phil English, R-3rd of Erie, Pa., and Rep. Melissa Hart, R-4th of Bradford Woods, Pa., voted in favor.
Lawmakers from both chambers will have to reconcile their differences before President Bush signs anything into law. They hope to get a bill to him by Election Day, Nov. 2.
Under the measure
The House measure would create a national intelligence director post but not give the director the strong budgetary and administrative powers that the Senate approved Wednesday. It also would create a national counterterrorism center.
The House bill also would give law-enforcement authorities greater powers to deport immigrants without judicial review and to eavesdrop on individuals suspected of terrorist plotting even if they aren't connected to known terrorist organizations. It would beef up border and aviation security but not require airlines to check for explosives in cargo.
House Republican leaders wrote their bill with little input from Democrats. They stripped out bipartisan amendments passed in committees and added other provisions at the last minute. In the end, 69 Democrats joined the Republican majority to pass the bill.
In a statement of policy released late Thursday, the White House said it had a number of concerns about the House bill. White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said the administration looks forward to negotiating with Congress to make sure that the president receives a bill he can sign.
Key point
One key sticking point is how much power the new intelligence director would wield. In contrast to the Senate bill, the House measure would leave much of the power over intelligence agencies with the Defense Department. That worried the Bush administration, which said in its statement that it's concerned the Republican bill "does not provide the NID [national intelligence director] sufficient authorities to manage the intelligence community effectively."
The House bill would broaden government powers to fight terrorism, illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
Lawmakers voted 210-203 to enact one controversial provision, opposed by the White House, to permit deportation of suspected terrorists to countries known to torture detainees. The Senate bill doesn't include such terms. The House initially voted to strip out the provision, but GOP leaders forced a second vote, and they won when five Republicans switched.
Identity documents
Raising privacy concerns, the House measure also would create a national database for drivers' licenses, birth certificates and criminal history. And it would set federal standards for identity cards such as state driver licenses. The Senate bill would set less-exacting national standards for identity documents.
The White House said it "strongly opposes overbroad alien identification standards ... that are unrelated to security concerns."
The House also voted 256-160 to speed construction of two trenches to keep out illegal immigrants along a 14-mile border area between San Diego and Mexico.
House Republicans want "to glom their anti-immigration ideas onto an anti-terrorism bill," said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif.