Lawmakers question exclusion of CIA, FBI from Bush plan

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers questioned the exclusion of the FBI and CIA from direct lines of authority under a new Homeland Security Department as the House opened hearings into President Bush's anti-terrorism reorganization plan.

At Tuesday's hearing and elsewhere on Capitol Hill, members of Congress grew more openly critical of the plan, which was announced last week, even as they generally agreed on a need for quick action.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said many lawmakers are concerned that the president's plan does not envision the "full participation" of the FBI and CIA, which have been the subjects of heavy criticism for their pre-Sept. 11 intelligence performance. Under Bush's plan, intelligence would be analyzed by the new department, which would have no authority over what the agencies produced.

"Many of us feel we can maybe, perhaps, more completely do that job than what was outlined" by the president, Armey said. "We may have to pull these agencies more fully into the structure than was recommended."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., told the House Government Reform national security subcommittee that the FBI's domestic intelligence arm might work best as part of the new department -- but he hastened to add that such a move should wait until after the new agency is created. Breaking apart the FBI would probably cause even greater turf wars than have already started.

"That's a big question, and one we're probably not likely to address in the short run," Lieberman said.

Also left out of the new department is the agency primarily responsible for tracking guns and bombs -- the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Even though ATF has participated in several high-profile terrorist incidents, White House officials say its primary mission didn't fit the definition of homeland security.

Met with leaders

Bush sought to reinforce support for the homeland security plan, meeting at the White House with a bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders and endorsing the call by House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., to pass the legislation by Sept. 11.

"What I've heard is there's a commitment to get this done in a way that takes any partisanship out of the issue, and at the same time strives for a date certain," Bush said before leaving for an event in Missouri underscoring the need for improved drinking water security.

The White House also announced that Tom Ridge, director of homeland security, would brief House members Wednesday and senators Thursday on the plan.