WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The White House pressured Congress Tuesday to break the deadlock on creation of a new Department of Homeland Security by accepting provisions that would retain the president's right to exclude some of the department's 170,000 employees from collective bargaining for reasons of national security.
President George W. Bush has such a right with all 14 other federal departments, it argued, and it would be "perverse" to deny him such authority in an organization specifically created to help protect the nation from terrorism.
"At this challenging time, we believe that the president's existing, government-wide authority to exclude unions from certain agencies in the interests of our national security should be preserved for this new department," Tom Ridge, the president's homeland security director, and 14 Cabinet secretaries said in a letter to Senate leadership.
Under the president's proposal, in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a new Department of Homeland Security would be created to centralize government efforts to prevent terrorism in the country. It would wrap some 20 government agencies under one umbrella and employ about 170,000 people.
According to White House and Office of Personnel Management figures, 40,000 to 49,000 of those employees have union bargaining rights in their respective departments but could be exempted by presidential decision.
Senate proposals for the Homeland Security Department currently would require the government to prove the employee being exempted specifically deals with anti-terrorism or counter-terrorism issues, and any dispute over the job classification be adjudicated by a special panel.
The White House argues this ties its hands; that it infringes on current rights the president enjoys and denies management the flexibility it needs in hiring, firing, transferring and paying employees in the specific agency.
"... There are still legitimate concerns that some of the members of the Senate have with regard to their collective bargaining rights," Ridge said. "We've assured them they've got all these -- the civil service protections that they've had. Whistle-blower protection, Hatch Act protection, civil rights protection -- those are preserved," Ridge said.
"At the same time as we try to address their concerns, they need to understand, and that's the reason for this very unique letter that went to the Hill today, (that) for the president to have national security authority, as it relates to the existing 14 departments and agencies, but not to be given -- actually to have that authority withdrawn by action of the Senate, have that authority taken away -- as it relates to the new department of homeland security, just seems to be perverse and it's the wrong thing for the Senate to be even considering at this time."
Ridge said the administration was still open to compromise and urged the Senate to complete the bill quickly.
"There's still time" before the end of the year, he said, indicating a lame duck session could be held.
Mark Roth, general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees, said administration demands were going too far, and that the union had bent over backwards to meet Bush's concerns while protecting workers.
The AFGE, he said, wants the exclusions from collective bargaining to be more specified.
"We've already backed up from the 50-yard line to the 1-yard line with Nelson-Chaffee (a compromise currently being considered), and that is where we have given the president the right to exclude unions.
"It's just tailored to an exclusion where people are primarily engaged in anti-terror activities, and not just the general term national security, which is everyone in the agency," he said.
Although many worker rights would be maintained under Bush's proposal, Roth argues that four main rights are not: compensation, job performance evaluation, the right to appeal disciplinary action and job classification.
"The emperor has no clothes," he said. "He is putting 20 diverse agencies together with no plan and giving employees no say. That is no model for a homeland security agency that is going to get the job done."
A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., laid the blame for the impasse on Republicans who were unwilling to compromise.
Daschle said he remained optimistic.
"Well, we are going to continue to try to resolve this outstanding difference," he said Tuesday.
"We have the votes, and we would like to have the amendment voted upon that represents a real compromise, a compromise that we think reflects the balance that we ought to have between giving the president the flexibility he wants and giving federal employees the protections they deserve. And we'll continue to try to do that.
"So I remain optimistic or hopeful because I realize this is an important issue not only for Democrats but for Republicans as well."
Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto homeland security legislation that restricts his authority to suspend union bargaining for positions considered important for national security.
