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The Irony Of Maritime Security

It now appears that the 107th United States Congress will enact new maritime security legislation during a lame-duck session to be held this month. This is ironic since both Senate and the House of Representatives passed maritime security bills months ago, the two measures were largely similar, and the two houses have been conferencing on development of a joint measure for some time. The purpose of this paper is not to dwell on the issues that delayed earlier passage of the measure. Rather, it is to review what new maritime security measures have been adopted by the various federal agencies utilizing their existing authority. As with the beginning of U.S. involvement in WW II and the Korean War, the War against Terrorism has started out as a 'come as you are' event.