Homeland security questions

Homeland security questions
By LOU MARANO
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2001 (UPI) -- How the new office of homeland security is structured will have important implications for American civil liberties, a law school dean said.

      Since President Bush named Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a fellow Republican, to head the Cabinet-level office last week, many questions remain unanswered.
      "The core decision is whether Congress legislates the office or if it is put together by the president," John Attanasio, dean of Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law told United Press International on Monday.
      The constitutional scholar asked whether Ridge would coordinate or command some 40 very powerful departments. Would the office have its own budget? he asked.
      Criticism of the lack of coordination among the different federal agencies involved in national security has been longstanding. In February, a bipartisan commission led by former Sens. Gary Hart and Warren Rudman called for the creation of such an agency to assume responsibility for defending the country against the increasing likelihood of terrorist attacks.
      The commission proposed revamping the National Guard and reorganizing the Pentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council.
      Traditionally, Americans have been leery of any use of the military for internal police functions. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 makes it illegal to use the armed forces for law enforcement except as "expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress."
      "There's a part of me that wants this to be debated in Congress," Attanasio said, "and there's a part of me that wants this under the president," who is accountable to the people in a way that the more than 500 members of Congress are not.
      "The office of the president has had excesses over time but generally has been extremely accountable both to the people and to the law," he told UPI.
      On the other hand, difficulties could arise if Congress gives the new entity broad-based, statutory authority to command other departments and agencies, he said.
      If the office is a creation of Congress, it will likely have greater longevity. "That might be a good thing, because President Bush correctly talks about this as a long-term problem." But it will be a lot easier to end if it's not legislated, Attanasio said.
      The law school dean spoke of the need to balance civil liberties against the risk of attack.
      "At minimum, the office should have strong accountability not only to the president but also to the Congress," he said. It should report regularly to the legislature "within the imperatives of national security - even if it is not a congressionally enacted post."
      Attanasio indicated that Ridge is attuned to civil liberties but cautioned that an office cannot be structured around a personality, especially if it has a statutory mandate.
      Ridge was the first non-judge to receive the John Marshall Award from the American Bar Association's Justice Center, Attanasio said. The governor received the award on Aug. 5 in Chicago in recognition of his "extraordinary improvement in the admission of justice" in Pennsylvania.
      "It's not easy to get that award from judges unless you have a good deal of respect for civil liberties," he said.
      Referring to the enormous scope of the new office, Attanasio said: "I just don't know whether the president is going to want that level of authority vested in one individual, even under limited circumstances. Those are core presidential functions.
      "This president and Governor Ridge are close friends, so it's likely to work out. But this is a very complex decision from a constitutional standpoint, because once you switch from coordinate to command, whoever occupies this position has unprecedented authority."
      There is an imperative to move quickly, he said, noting the unprecedented nature of the Sept. 11 attacks. "But the law tends by nature to move slowly."

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