Lawmaker decries merger snag

	Delays in creating a unified terrorist watch list stem from "a lack of leadership" by the Bush administration, not a lack of technology, said Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas.

Delays in creating a unified terrorist watch list stem from "a lack of leadership" by the Bush administration, not a lack of technology, said Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas.

Turner, ranking minority member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, is urging committee chairman Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., to hold hearings looking into the delays.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said last month that the Terrorist Screening Center, which the FBI administers, would field a unified list this year. The government has 12 watch lists. Until they are integrated, the center's effectiveness is limited, Turner said.

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