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.â€
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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