Early Results in From Cargo Scanning Mandate
Early results of a pilot to test 100 percent scanning of U.S.-bound containerized cargo shows both promise and challenges, a top Department of Homeland Security official told lawmakers recently. Stewart Baker, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for policy, indicated there were many challenges to the goal of 100 percent scanning in every port but that the department will pursue that goal aggressively. The Sept. 11 commission recommendation law mandates the scanning of all U.S.-bound cargo containers at foreign ports by July 2012. The law gives the Homeland Security secretary leeway if he finds the available integrated scanning technology, which includes a combination of imaging — such as X-ray — and radiation detection, is not adequate.
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.
