Committee On Government Reform News

At a hearing before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations of the House Committee on Government Reform, John B. Stephenson, Director of Natural Resources and Environment of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) testified that chemical facilities may be an attractive target for terrorists. Only those chemical facilities located adjacent to waterways are currently required to prepare and submit security plans. In accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), such chemical plant and other waterfront facilities are required to submit security plans to the U.S. Coast Guard. GAO-04-482T (Source: HK Law).

Reform conducted a hearing on Combating Terrorism: Protecting the United States. In a news release, issued prior to the hearing, the Subcommittee noted that the purpose of the hearing is to assess progress to date, near-term challenges, and long-term goals of certain efforts to protect the United States from terrorist attacks. With regard to port security, the Subcommittee noted that, in the Port of New York alone, 10,000 ships and 3 million containers arrived in the year 2001. The General Accounting Office presented Testimony at the hearing noting, among other things, that the Coast Guard is developing three new maritime security levels and has instituted its 'Sea Marshal' program to improve port security.

The Committee on Government Reform, chaired by Representative Dan Burton (R-IN), today voted to include the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the U.S. Secret Service as part of H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of 2002. “The decision to retain all four of these entities is critical to the core mission and overall success of this new Department,” said Burton. The determination to keep these critical components intact comes on the heels of votes in other Committees today to remove all or portions of the Coast Guard, FEMA, INS, and the Secret Service from the President’s original proposal.

House Committee on Government Reform, the General Accounting Office (GAO) submitted testimony entitled Port Security: Nation Faces Formidable Challenges in Making New Initiatives Successful The testimony addresses vulnerabilities of commercial seaports, initiatives undertaken by federal agencies and other stakeholders to enhance seaport security, and challenges faced in implementing security-enhancing initiatives. The testimony notes that the Coast Guard, in particular, has acted as the focal point for assessing and addressing security concerns, anticipating many of the measures that Congress and the administration are contemplating. Experience indicates that full implementation of seaport security measures will be more difficult and more expensive than many anticipate.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) submitted testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management, and Intergovernmental Relations of the House Committee on Government Reform entitled Homeland Security: Effective Intergovernmental Coordination is Key to Success. The testimony cites the challenge of defining roles for various actors in areas including port security. It also states the Coast Guard efforts to establish national standards for assessing port security conditions are well underway. Source: HK Law

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) delivered testimony before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations of the House Committee on Government Reform entitled Combating Terrorism: Observations on National Strategies Related to Terrorism