By a 90-to-9 vote during the final hours of an unusual lame-duck session Nov. 19, the Senate agreed to move 170,000 employees from 22 existing government agencies into a single Department of Homeland Security.

However, many of the department's programs, such as trucking security, bioterrorism defense and customs operations, are strapped for cash, perhaps well into next year, The Washington Post reports.

Congress funded the government at 2002 levels until Jan. 11. This could mean federal, state and local agencies expecting large increases for emergency response, new equipment and other needs will not see additional money until spring, halfway through the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Budget experts say Congress is unlikely to pass any 2003 non-defense spending bills until February at the earliest, the paper reported.

Among the areas of concern:

--Major computer purchases to bolster the president's border security initiative are on hold.

--The new Transportation Security Administration, operating on $466 million less than it expected for the next two months, has had to withhold $20 million in truck security grants.

--The Customs Service has reached agreements with nine countries to inspect massive shipping containers heading to the United States from 15 of the world's 20 largest ports, but it will likely have to postpone the deployment of agents scheduled for January.

--Bioterrorism funding was also slated for increases in 2003, but Congress has provided the federal government's bioterrorism program with $1.5 billion, a fraction of the president's $4.3 billion request.

Meanwhile, the man expected to lead the new department, Tom Ridge, who is now the White House domestic security adviser, said in an interview Nov. 20, "I may need to go to church every day" for guidance in the largest reorganization of the government since the creation of the Defense Department in the 1940s.

Agreement on the bill came after Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott gave his word that three areas of concern to some Republicans and most Democrats would be renegotiated in January.

The three provisions would give immunity from lawsuits to companies producing certain vaccines, funnel research money to Texas A&M University and give a break to businesses that have moved offshore to avoid taxes.

Meanwhile, local officials praise a provision in the bill that clarifies rules allowing federal law-enforcement authorities to share intelligence and other sensitive information with state and local peers, the National Journal 's Technology Daily reports.

But at the same time, local officials are concerned over budgetary delays halting the distribution of funds to local and state emergency "first responders."

Generally, the new department will consolidate all the agencies that protect America's borders, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service and its Border Patrol, the Coast Guard and the Customs Service. It will include the Secret Service and agencies that deal with air-travel security, emergency response and bioterrorism.