Senate vote sets up worker-rights showdown on Homeland Security

WASHINGTON -- In a key test vote Thursday, the Senate set up a showdown between Republicans and Democrats over sweeping powers sought by President Bush to hire, fire and deploy workers in the proposed Homeland Security Department.

After the vote, Bush endorsed an alternative offered by Sens. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and Zell Miller, D-Ga., and urged the Senate to pass it before adjourning for the year.

"We're at a time of war and the Senate shouldn't be making it harder for an administration, whether it be this one or future administrations, in terms of doing their job," Bush told reporters following a tour of a White House homeland security facility.

By a 50-49 vote along party lines, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes necessary under its rules to effectively prevent major changes to a Democratic version of the bill. Bush has threatened to veto that version because it does not meet his demands for the new management powers.

The upshot is that Republicans will have more time to push for an alternative that the president will accept.

Democrats, however, said the decision would simply mean more delay on a bill that lawmakers had once hoped to send the president by Sept. 11.

"I mean, this is our opportunity either do it or not, and I would just hope that we could do it and move on," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

The Gramm-Miller alternative would slightly modify the labor powers and make more than 15 other changes to the Democratic bill in areas ranging from intelligence to immigration.

"The purpose of homeland security should be to protect lives, not jobs," said Miller, a conservative Democrat who frequently breaks with his party's leadership.

The proposal would preserve the president's existing power to exempt workers from union coverage for reasons of national security, but would add requirements for employee and advance congressional notification.