Trent Lott: “the Senate now has been on this important issue over 3 weeks. The creation of the Homeland Security Department…”

“the Senate now has been on this important issue over 3 weeks. The creation of the Homeland Security Department, something that clearly is very important, needs to be done. Perhaps it needed to be done earlier--without being critical of anybody. There needs to be some way to bring these different groups together and get a focus, get some direction, to give them the directions they need and the funds and the people to deal here at home with the threat by terrorists and by others. We need this Homeland Security Department. I had thought we could probably do a Homeland Security Department in a few days--probably less than a week. But here we are, now. Obviously, we are going to take a month on this issue. What is at stake? What has delayed this issue is the President's authority to impose national security interests, the security of the American people in their homes and their streets and their businesses, innocent men, women, and children here at home--for the President to be able to act in the national security interest, to have some flexibility in management authority to make sure this Department runs efficiently. Yet we see we are still arguing over work rules in the workplace.”