Both versions of a department of homeland security--the administration's version, as passed by the House, and the Senate's Democratic version--envisioned one of the largest bureaucratic reorganizations in the country's history. Byrd proposed this amendment as a way to insert Congress more directly into the transition process. It would have established the superstructure of the Department and required the administration to move forward in stages, with Congressional approval along the way. Progressives, already nervous about the scope of the change and the discretion given to the administration, supported this amendment. Even so, the amendment was rejected, 28-70.