Despite divisions over distributing homeland security grants and other issues, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday approved legislation that would implement unfulfilled recommendations of the panel that probed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Today we continue the process of securing our nation in this new era where our enemies don't wear uniforms or attack with fleets of planes or ships, but rather try to move silently among us -- probing for weaknesses while plotting disastrous attacks against innocent civilians," committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said of the legislation.

Lieberman said he expects the bill to go to the floor quickly.

The legislation was approved by a 16-0 vote, with Tom Coburn,  R-Okla., abstaining. Coburn said he wants to see what changes can be made to the bill before it goes to the floor. Lieberman pledged to work with senators to further refine the measure.

Debate over amendments lasted into the early afternoon, mainly because of a large number of them proposed by Coburn. At one point, Coburn lost track of which amendments had been approved and which were still pending.

"When you have this many, it's hard to keep them all straight," he said.

Much of the debate focused on oversight and distribution of homeland security grants. An amendment to alter the funding formula for distributing state homeland security grants was defeated by a 7-10 vote. The amendment would have granted each state 0.25 percent of funding available through the program, as opposed to 0.45 percent in the bill.

An amendment from Coburn to require all provisions in the bill to sunset was defeated by a 2-15 vote. Coburn argued to no avail that Congress should be forced to review Homeland Security Department programs after five years. Committee ranking Republican Susan Collins of Maine countered that Coburn's amendment was too broad and would "sunset the department."

An amendment from Lieberman that would grant Transportation Security Administration screeners collective bargaining rights and whistleblower protections was approved by a 9-8 vote. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, opposed the amendment, saying it would step on the jurisdiction of the Senate Commerce Committee, which he chaired in the last Congress.

Senate Commerce unanimously approved an amendment that would set criteria for the Homeland Security Department to expand the number of countries allowed to participate in the government's visa-waiver program, which lets citizens of those countries travel to the United States for up to 90 days without visas. The amendment was adopted after Collins modified it.

The modification would require the department to establish a system under the US-VISIT program to verify when foreigners leave the country at airports. Collins said she believes Homeland Security could create the system within a year.