WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Susan
Collins, R-Me., Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee, and Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced a bipartisan bill
Tuesday that would extend the groundbreaking port security programs now in
place in the United States.
The measure, “The SAFE Port
Reauthorization Act of 2010,” extends anti-terrorism protections designed to
safeguard the nation’s critical shipping lanes and seaports from attack and
sabotage. Senators Collins and Murray coauthored the original SAFE Port
Act in 2005; it was enacted the following year.
“The scope of what we need to protect is
broad,” said Senator Collins. “America has 361 seaports – each vital
links in our nation’s transportation network. Our seaports move more than
95 percent of overseas trade. In 2009, U.S. ports logged 68,000
ports-of-call by foreign-flagged vessels, bringing 9.8 million shipping
containers to our shores.
“Because seaports are flourishing, our
harbors operate as vital centers of economic activity; they also represent
vulnerable targets. An attack on one or more U.S. ports could cause great
loss of life and large numbers of injuries; it could damage our energy supplies
and infrastructure; it could cripple retailers and manufacturers dependent on
incoming inventory; and it could hamper our ability to move and supply American
military forces fighting against the forces of terrorism.”
Said
Senator Murray:
“As long as terrorists continue trying to harm our country, we can’t afford to
let our guard down at our nation’s ports. We need to extend the SAFE Port Act
to make sure our communities, families, and economy remain protected. This is
especially important for my home state of Washington, where families and
businesses depend on our ports remaining safe and open for business.”
Among other things, the bill would
reauthorize the SAFE Port Act maritime cargo security programs that have proven
to be successful. These include:
- The
Automated Targeting System that identifies high-risk cargo; - The
Container Security Initiative that ensures high-risk cargo containers are
inspected at ports overseas before they travel to the United States; and - The
Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or C-TPAT, that provides
incentives to importers to enhance the security of their cargo from point of
origin to destination.
The bill would also strengthen the C-TPAT
program by providing new benefits, including voluntary security training to
industry participants and providing participants an information sharing
mechanism on maritime and port security threats, and by authorizing Customs and
Border Protection to conduct unannounced inspections to ensure that security
practices are robust. The cooperation of private industry is vital to
protecting supply chains, and C-TPAT is a necessary tool for securing their
active cooperation in supply chain security efforts.
Further, the bill would extend the
competitive, risk-based, port security grants that have provided $1.5 billion
to improve the security of our ports. The authorization for the next five
years at $400 million per year is a continued major commitment of resources,
but it is fully proportional to what is at stake, and a priority that we cannot
ignore.
In addition to continuing and
strengthening critical programs, the bill also would expand the America’s
Waterway Watch Program to promote voluntary reporting of suspected terrorist
activity or suspicious behavior against a vessel, facility, port, or
waterway.
The bill also protects citizens from
frivolous lawsuits when they report, in good faith, suspicious behavior that
may indicate terrorist activity against the United States, building on a 2007
homeland security law that encourages people to report suspicious
transportation activity.
The legislation enhances research and
development efforts to improve maritime cargo security with demonstration
project to examine the use of composite materials in cargo containers to
improve container integrity and to deploy next generation sensors.
Finally, the measure addresses the
difficulties in administering the mandate of x-raying and scanning for radiation
all cargo containers overseas that are destined for the United States by July
2012. That technology is not yet perfected. The bill would
eliminate the deadline for x-raying 100 percent of containers if the Secretary
of Homeland Security certifies the effectiveness of individual security
measures of that layered security approach. This is a more reasonable
method to secure our cargo until a new method of x-raying containers is proven
effective.
Among the groups that have endorsed the
legislation: American Association of Port
Authorities; National Retail Federation; National Maritime Manufacturers
Association; Association of Marina Industries; National Association of State
Boating Law Administrators; National Boating Federation; and Boat Owners Association
of the United States.
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