A Brookhaven lawmaker is helping to shape national policy aspart of the new Homeland Security Task Force.

Dr. Jim Barnett, who represents District 92 in the MississippiLegislature, returned Sunday from a 16-member task force meeting inWashington. Barnett said the meeting included an interesting andinformative discussion on homeland security.

“I was thinking about planes flying into buildings, but there’sa whole lot more to it than that,” Barnett said.

For security reasons, Barnett was unable to discuss some topicsthat came up during the meeting with President George W. Bush.

Ideas that Barnett were able at to talk about included thepossibility of a national identification card system and anunder-the-skin capsule that would contain a variety of informationabout the wearer. The subcutaneous capsules would be voluntary,Barnett said.

In transportation matters, the task force discussed airplanepilots being allowed to carry guns and two lines at airports fordifferent classes of passengers. One line would be for frequenttravelers while the other, more scrutinized line would be for theoccasional flyer.

Barnett praised an improved system for notifying U.S. entrypoints about visa activity. Under the system, when a visa isgranted, the visa information can be transmitted to all entrypoints within seven minutes.

“I think that’s going to be good,” Barnett said.

The Homeland Security Department will have over 170,000employees and be divided into four areas, Barnett said. Thoseinclude transportation, infrastructure protection, emergencyresponse and research and development.

Barnett, chosen for the task force because of his knowledge ofmedical issues, commented on Bush’s recently-announced plan forsmallpox vaccinations. The plan includes vaccinations for militarypersonnel and medical personnel, who could be at high risk in theevent of an attack, but does not require the shots for the generalpublic.

Barnett said he supports the vaccination for the military andhigh-risk groups, but he did not have answer on whether theboosters should be required for the general public.

“The President’s going to take his, and I’m going to take mine,”Barnett said. “I feel like mine’s probably worn a little thin.”

Barnett expected ideas discussed during last week’s meeting tobe further developed as the task force moves forward. He said nofuture meeting had been scheduled.