Congressman Cummings Supports Legislation to Close Security Gaps at Seaports

Congressman Cummings Supports Legislation to Close Security Gaps at Seaports

Washington, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings responded to recent reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighting significant security vulnerabilities at our nation's ports.

"I am deeply disturbed by the profound gaps in security at our nation's seaports that have been allowed to persist now approximately four and half years after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001," said Congressman Cummings.

He continued, "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its constituent agencies - including the U.S. Coast Guard and the Customs and Border Protection Agency - have developed programs to place federal agents at overseas ports to examine cargo before it is loaded onto ships and to identify containers needing additional inspection through the examination of cargo manifests and shipping company security plans.

"However, too many of our existing programs are dependent on the cooperation of shippers or of partners in foreign ports and the effectiveness of these programs in identifying containers that may pose a security risk has now been called into question," Congressman Cummings continued.

"We have long known that only about 5 percent of the 11 million containers that reach our shores are physically inspected before they are admitted. We learned this week that even with federal agents stationed at foreign ports, fewer than 1 percent of containers are inspected before they leave foreign ports bound for the U.S. These rates of inspection are simply too low to give us even a reasonable chance of finding weapons or other dangerous goods being smuggled into our nation.

"At the same time, a report issued this month by the GAO found that we are not on track to install radiation detection equipment at the more than 380 ports of entry by the deadline of September 2009 (which is itself 8 years after September 11, 2001). According to the GAO, by December 2005, DHS had installed only 22% of the planned number of 3,034 monitors, allowing DHS to screen just 32% of the containerized cargo entering U.S. seaports.

"The sale of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) - a major terminal operating firm in the United States - to a firm owned by the government of Dubai raised awareness of the many issues in port security our nation has yet to resolve. This new information detailing the specific security gaps that exist must spur the U.S. to finally take action to ensure that we can adequately protect our nation.

"I am pleased to be a co-sponsor of the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act (SAFE Port Act), H.R. 4954, which was approved on March 30, 2006, by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security. I hope this legislation - which would authorize more than $800 million annually for port security and require DHS to develop strict standards for container security - will be adopted by the full Committee and quickly approved by the full House of Representatives."

http://www.house.gov/cummings/press/06mar31a.htm