FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Homeland Security Committee Passes Bill Addressing Many Security Gaps At U.S. Seaports
Although Rejection of Critical Amendments Would Have Made Ports More Secure
April 26, 2006 -- Today, the Committee on Homeland Security marked up H.R. 4954, the Security and Accountability For
Every Port Act (SAFE Port Act). Congressman Thompson issued the following statement regarding the markup:
"Today's passage of the SAFE Port Act by this Committee was a positive step in safeguarding our nation's ports. However,
I was disappointed that procedural games undermined the bipartisan spirit that the bill was crafted under. The American
people deserve a comprehensive port security bill, not one that leaves our nation's ports vulnerable to terrorist
attacks simply to score a few political points."
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection
and Cybersecurity added: "This legislation is the culmination of more than two years of work by the Democrats to press
for increased security at our nation's ports. The SAFE Port Act is not a perfect one and more can be done. I believe it
is a solid first step in improving port security."
Members of the Committee offered several key amendments aimed at strengthening the proposed legislation but all were
rejected. Among them:
An amendment offered by Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) would have required that within the next 5 years, 100% of cargo be
scanned before entering U.S. Ports.
Rep. Markey stated: "Today House Republicans turned their backs on the lessons at the heart of the 9/11 tragedy when
they struck down an amendment which would close a dangerous loophole that remains in our port security by blocking my
amendment which would provide 100% inspection of all cargo containers before they arrive at U.S. ports. The time to act
is now, not after Al Qaeda sneaks a nuclear weapon into an American city by exploiting this glaring loophole. This
nearly party line vote was a victory for powerful special interests over the security of the American public."
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who first raised the idea of 100% scanning in his "Sail Only if Scanned (S.O.S.) Act" added:
"I was disappointed that the Markey amendment was not adopted today. It's absolutely clear that we need to scan 100
percent of U.S.-bound containers for radiological weapons. We will continue to push to make 100-percent scanning the
policy of the United States." Mr. Nadler's legislation was previously accepted in the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee as a standalone bill.
Two amendments offered by Congressman James Langevin (D-RI) would have significantly increased the number of radiation
portal monitors available to our ports for cargo scanning.
Rep. Langevin stated: "We must provide the necessary resources to detect nuclear materials at our ports and borders
before it is too late. My amendments would have provided the critical funding and strategies to purchase and deploy our
last best chance of preventing a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb from entering our country."
Another amendment offered by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) would have created a 6 month moratorium to conduct
port operations on contracts involving countries, organizations or individuals identified as a terrorist sponsored
entity.
Rep. Jackson Lee stated: "Rejecting this amendment dealt a serious blow to our nation's port security. My amendment
would have put in place a crucial pause in the commercial contracting of the operations of our nation's seaports and
ports of entry until we have closely examined the selection process and discarded any outlying concerns.
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