USA: Homeland Security Bill passed in Senate

The USA's Homelands Security Bill was passed by the US Senate late yesterday and will be put back before the House of Representatives for acceptance of a number of minor amendments before being sent to the President for signing into Law. The House of Representatives had approved the Bill on 13 November 2002 and its progress was slowed a little in the Senate where there were some disputes. Even so, it has remained largely unmolested.

When passed, the Act will bring together 22 government agencies into a single 170,000 strong unit. It will come into force 60 days after the President appends his signature. However, whether this actually happens is open to question. The history of much of the post 11 September 2001 legislation is that the lawmakers imposed tight schedules which were, simply, too tight to meet and so derogations and permitted delays have been the order of the day.