WASHINGTON -- An effort by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., to exempt the hobby rocket industry from the Homeland Security Act cleared its first hurdle on Thursday.

The Senate judiciary committee approved an amended version of the bill, S. 724 , 16-2. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY and Larry Craig, R-ID, voted against the measure.

"Our country's law enforcement resources would be better utilized by seeking out real theats to our national security and safety instead of processing permits for kids who want to launch model rockets," Enzi said in a release. "ATF agents have better things to do."

Committee leadership praised Enzi and Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., for working out a compromise on the bill.

"It strikes an appropriate balance between the interests of the hobbyists and law enforcement officials," said Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

The Homeland Security Act requires the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to monitor the purchase and transfer of "any chemical mixture or device whose primary or common purpose is to function by explosion."

The ATF has interpreted this to include ammonium perchlorate composite propellant, the fuel that is used in commercial and hobby rockets.

Under this regulation, people who build and launch hobby rockets would have to get permits from the ATF to purchase rocket motors and to transport them to where they will be launched. They will also have to undergo extensive background checks that could take at least two months to complete and maintain records that can be inspected by the ATF.

Enzi said the measure should keep rocket enthusiasts out of the Homeland Security bureaucracy. "Every kid won't have to get fingerprinted," Enzi said.

Enzi and other bill proponents say the small quantities of the chemical that are in hobby rockets do not threaten national safety and would exempt hobby rocketeers from such requirements.

The room in which the Judiciary Committee was meeting was filled with lobbyists dressed in supple leather loafers, double-breasted suits and silk ties because the committee also was considering a bill that aims to rein in asbestos litigation.

"I suspect the people in this room are more concerned with this than the issue of rockets," the committees top Democrat Patrick J. Leahy, VT., joked after turning his attention from the rocket bill to the asbestos legislation.

Despite Leahy's joke, many average people have voiced their support for the bill.

"I have been contacted by a number of rocketeers in Vermont," Leahy said.

The initial version of Enzi's bill had caused some concern among Justice Department officials, but Enzi addressed the officials' concerns.

"He worked very hard to maintain the integrity of the law while accommodating hobby rocketeers," the Vermont Democrat said.

The officials were satisfied when Enzi agreed to limit the exemption to one pound of rocket fuel or less for individuals and the 25 pounds or less for hobby stores. Enzi sought to exempt larger quantities of the matter.