As the Senate vote for the Homeland Security Department approaches, three ISU community members said its implications will be far-reaching, whether for better or worse.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the creation of a Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, and also passed a bill authorizing intelligence agency spending on Friday. The Senate is expected to pass the measure sometime this week.

The new department would merge 22 agencies, such as the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, into a single Cabinet-level office.

Michael Dale, chairman of the ISU College Republicans, is optimistic about the new department and what it could mean for the United States.

“I’m glad it’s being dealt with,” said Dale, sophomore in pre-business. “This has been something the public wants.”

Dale said he is confident the deal will be beneficial for the entire population.

“I don’t see anybody who really suffers from the passing of the bill,” he said.

Jeff Hall, library assistant and faculty adviser for ISU Campus Greens, had a different perspective on the Department of Homeland Security.

“Giving up our freedom isn’t the way to preserve it,” he said.

Hall said people fear a growing centralized government.

“[This bill would allow the] government [to] keep a central database with information on everyone. There is not a legitimate reason for law enforcement to have it,” he said.

Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, said the department will have long-term effects.

The Homeland Security Department would weaken the strength of the separate agencies that would form it and place limits on labor unions and 170,000 workers, he said.

“President Bush wants to keep the agency flexible to be able to move things around for security,” Schmidt said. “This severely limits unions’ ability to protect workers.”

Schmidt said it all boils down to an issue of politics.

“The Democrats were punished in the last election, so now they give in,” he said. “A few key elections they lost may have been saved if they had passed this before.”

There is tension between the parties after the Republicans added more stipulations — such as the right of pilots to carry guns on planes and limiting the liability on companies that manufacture airport security machines — into the Homeland Security bill without discussion.

“The Democrats are now forced to support a bill that is worse than the one they opposed,” Schmidt said.

The new department will have many controversial policies, he said.

Most notably, the new agency will implement the PATRIOT Act, a measure that gives law enforcement much more authority.

Schmidt said the Homeland Security Department needs to define its focus in order to gain public trust.

“The politicians need to revise the legislation and figure out if homeland security only means anti-terrorism,” he said.

— CNN contributed to this article