Commerce Provisions in S. 4
Floor Speech
COMMERCE PROVISIONS IN S. 4 -- (Senate - March 15, 2007)
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I thank Senators Lieberman and Collins for working with the Commerce Committee to include important security measure in the bill that passed the Senate yesterday. And, I thank my longtime friend Senator Inouye for his willingness to work in committee and on the Senate floor on a bipartisan basis to develop and pass these measures.
We have made tremendous strides to secure our Nation since the horrific attacks of September 11, particularly with respect to the security of our Nation's transportation systems, and ensuring interoperable communications needed most during times of crisis.
As the debate over this bill demonstrates, our job is far from over, for there are still more improvements to be made and gaps to close. In matters of security, we must not become complacent; as our enemies adapt, so must we.
The Commerce Committee's aviation and surface transportation legislation, which have been included in S. 4 will significantly enhance the ability of the Department of
Homeland Security DHS, and the Transportation Security Administration TSA, to fulfill their missions. These provisions were developed by the Commerce Committee while Mindful of the delicate balance between implementing tough security measures and the effect such regulations may have on the Nation's economy and the movement of goods.
The aviation provisions incorporated into S. 4 were reported by the Commerce Committee on February 13 as S. 509, the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 2007. The provisions incorporate aviation-related 9/11 Commission recommendations, and provide TSA with additional tools to carry out its layered approach to security.
To do this, the aviation security provisions dedicate continued funding for the installation of in-line explosive detection systems utilized for the enhanced screening of checked baggage at our Nation's airports.
We all recognize the importance of screening 100 percent of cargo transported to and within the United States. Last Year, in the Safe Port Act, Congress acted to ensure that all cargo arriving in the U.S. by sea be screened. In S. 4, we ensure that 100 percent of air cargo also is screened. The U.S. air cargo supply chain handles over 50,000 tons of cargo
each day, of which 26 percent, is designated for domestic passenger carriers.
Screening is particularly important in Alaska. Anchorage is the No. 1 airport in the U.S. for landed weight of cargo, and it is No. 3 in the world for cargo throughput. Our provision requires TSA to develop and implement a system to provide for the screening of all cargo being carried on passenger aircraft.
To address on-going concerns about passenger prescreening procedures, the legislation requires DHS to create an office of appeals and redress to establish a timely and fair process for airline passengers who believe they have been misidentified against the no-fly or selectee watchlists.
TSA's layered approach to security relies not only upon equipment and technological advances, but also upon improved security screening techniques employed by the TSA screeners, as well as the use of very effective canines. This legislation calls for TSA's national explosives detection canine team to deploy more of these valuable resources across the Nation's transportation network.
Mr. President, the bill passed by the Senate today also contains the provisions of S. 184, the Surface Transportation and Rail Security Act of 2007, which also was developed and reported on a bipartisan basis by the Commerce Committee.
While the aviation industry has received most of the attention and funding for security, the rail and transit attacks in Britain, Spain, and India all point to a common strategy utilized by terrorists. The openness of our surface transportation network presents unique security challenges. The vastness of these systems requires targeted allocation of our resources based on risk.
Most of the surface transportation security provisions in the bill before the Senate today have been included previously as part of other transportation security bills introduced by Senator Inouye, Senator McCain, and myself. Many of the provisions in the substitute amendment passed the Senate unanimously last Congress, as well as in the 108th Congress. Each time, however, the House of Representatives has not found the need to address rail, pipeline, motor carrier, hazardous materials, and over-the-road bus security. The time has come to get these provisions to the President's desk.
The substitute also contains the provisions of the Commerce Committee-reported measure, S. 385, the Interoperable Emergency Communications Act. Since 2001, we have heard the cries of public safety officials that the police, firefighters and emergency medical response personnel throughout the country need help achieving interoperability.
With this $1 billion program that helps every State, public safety will be able to move forward with real solutions and begin addressing the problems that have plagued our Nation's first responders for too long.
The legislation addresses the public safety issues that have been brought to the Commerce Committee's attention. It also creates a $100 million fund to establish both Federal and State strategic technology reserves that will restore communications quickly in disasters equal in scale to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Added as amendments to the bill were a number of additional Commerce Committee items, for which I thank the managers of the bill, as well as Chairman Inouye for their support.
Included among those provisions was a measure that represents an important step forward for public safety because it approved the 9-1-1 modernization Act, which was reported last month by the Commerce Committee. I
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offered this measure with Senators Clinton, Inouye Hutchison, Snowe, Smith, and Vitter.
The amendment provides advanced borrowing authority so that $43.5 million can be made available for 9-1-1 upgrades which are desperately needed throughout the country--especially in rural America. Congress previously allocated these funds in the digital television transition legislation, but without the borrowing authority language, public safety would have to wait until after the digital transition auction before they could receive these important funds.
Also added was an amendment sponsored by Chairman Inouye that I cosponsored that establishes a national registered armed law enforcement program for law enforcement officers who need to be armed while traveling by air. This law enforcement provision builds upon mandates in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.
An additional amendment was sponored by Chairman Inouye with my cosponsorship that enhances the canine provisions in the underlying bill by expanding the national explosives detection canine team training program. Beyond increasing the training capacity at the current facility at Lackland Air Force Base as provided in the underlying bill, the amendment adopted would require DHS to explore options of creating a standardized TSA-approved canine program that private sector entities could utilize to meet the ongoing need for canines.
We must not politicize national security. The Commerce Committee initiatives included in the pending bill were achieved only because of bipartisanship. I am pleased that the development and passage of the bill was conducted by the bill managers in that same spirit. And while some provisions contained within the bill need to be further developed--as many of our colleagues have highlighted over the past few weeks--I voted in favor of the bill as I support the preponderance of its contents.
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