Senators Urge Tracking of Containers from Points of Origin
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) issued a Press Release urging the Department of Homeland Security to improve U.S. border protection by tracking containers being shipped to the United States from their points of origin. The senators also released a copy of the Letter they sent to Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security, explaining their concerns in greater detail.
Senate Confirms Mullen, Cartwright for Top Military Positions
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Mullen and Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, Gen. James E. Cartwright greet Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Sen. Jack Reed and Sen. John Warner prior to their confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee for appointment to Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at Hart Senate Office Building. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. The Senate confirmed Adm. Michael G. Mullen and Marine Corps Gen. James E. “Hoss” Cartwright as chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively, Aug. Mullen will assume the top U.S. military post, held by Marine Gen. Peter Pace since September 2005. Pace is slated to retire Oct. Cartwright assumes the No. 2 military post held by Navy Adm.
Senate OKs Security Improvement Act of 2006
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) applauded the unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate to pass the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006 (H.R. 4954), welcoming the legislation as a comprehensive plan to improve maritime cargo and facility security and maintain an efficient flow of commerce through America’s ports. “Representatives of several Senate committees took components of the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act (S. 2459) and the Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2006 (S. 2791) to develop an important new bill that promises to enhance port and cargo security at home, strengthen the federal Port Security Grant program to help U.S.
Senators Vote to Increase Security Funding
Senate Republicans and Democrats together boosted funding for border and port security in the fiscal 2007 Homeland Security appropriations bill by almost $1b, but were bitterly divided over how to restructure the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Senators agreed to two amendments by Senate Appropriations ranking member Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., that would provide $350m extra for border security and $648m more for port and cargo security. But several senators clashed on the floor over restructuring FEMA. In the end, an amendment by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., to transform FEMA but keep it within the department was approved on an 87-11 vote. The amendment, which had strong backing from Sen.
Maritime Security Initiative Launched
United States Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced their introduction of the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act. Murray, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, and Collins, Chairman of the full Senate Homeland Security Committee, co-authored the bill to improve the security of the millions of cargo containers that enter America's ports unchecked each year. Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) are original cosponsors of this legislation. The nation's current cargo security regime was built pre-9/11, with an emphasis on efficiency but not on security. At present, opportunities for terrorists to tamper with cargo exist at every step along the supply chain.
House Approves Bush's Alaskan Oil Drilling Plan
The Bush administration's plan to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil drilling was approved by the House of Representatives early on Thursday, but it faces a tougher fight in the Senate, which wants U.S. energy policy to focus on conservation. The key issue in the debate over a broad national energy policy is the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), home to polar bears, caribou and 160 kinds of migratory birds. While green groups and many Democrats view the remote and pristine refuge as an American Serengetti, drilling proponents contend oil and gas could be safely extracted from a tiny area. Republican-led House passed, on a 240 to 189 vote, a comprehensive energy bill that included drilling in ANWR.
