I sure hope this is the news I have been waiting for --hisc----
By Toby Eckert
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
2:29 p.m. November 15, 2005
WASHINGTON – Legislation designed to close gaps in port security and create a more stable funding source for waterfront security projects was introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday.
The $835 million bill, which includes new safety standards for cargo containers, is the most ambitious port security initiative since the passage of a maritime counter-terrorism law in 2002. Critics have complained ever since that the law didn't go far enough to protect ports against terrorism or provide adequate funding.
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"What we have now are programs that appear to be hollow," said Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, a co-sponsor of the bill. "They sound great on paper, the concepts are good ones, but the way they've been implemented offers no guarantee that they're effective. We want to put some teeth into those programs, make them effective and close the gaps in enforcement that exist now."
Among the bill's key provisions is creation of a new program, dubbed "GreenLane," that would allow shippers to speed cargo through U.S. ports if they allow tracking of shipments from factories, screening before it is loaded on to cargo vessels and other safeguards.
"We will know what is in each of those containers, who has handled it, whether it has been tampered with, and if it needs more scrutiny," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.
The program would add another layer to existing programs designed to increase cargo security without impeding commerce. Major shortcomings in those programs were exposed earlier this year by a congressional panel and the Government Accountability Office.
The legislation would also set an annual minimum of $400 million for a grant program that has provided ports, including Los Angeles and San Diego, with funds for security improvements. Port officials say the funding level is unpredictable now.
Distribution of the grants would be based on an analysis of the relative risk of terrorism facing the ports that apply for funding. When a similar formula was applied to the program this year, Los Angeles and San Diego received significant increases in funding.
Some funding of multi-year projects, like the construction of a container inspection facility at the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, would also be allowed.
"We've advocated for these changes ever since the Port Security Grant program was introduced after 9/11," Kurt Nagle, president of the American Association of Port Authorities, said in a written statement. "The program has always been woefully underfunded, paying less than one-fifth of what ports have requested for reimbursements of eligible facility security investments."
While similar legislation has languished in the past, the bill could get a powerful boost from Collins' co-sponsorship.
"I'm going to work very hard in my committee to advance this legislation," she said. "I hope to schedule a hearing when we come back in session in January and move the bill through committee."
Two other key committee members – ranking Democrat Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and investigations subcommittee Chairman Norm Coleman, R-Minn. – also helped craft the legislation.
Other provisions of the bill:
– Direct the Homeland Security Department to start examining all in-bound cargo containers for radiation a year after enactment. Less than a quarter of the needed screening systems have been deployed, the lawmakers said, despite concern that a container could be used to smuggle a nuclear weapon into the country.
– Require the department to create a strategic plan for improving container security and protocols for resuming trade in case of an attack.
– Establish an Office of Cargo Security Policy in the department and a Joint Operations Center for Maritime and Cargo Security to coordinate the work of various
