Hollings Laments Security Funding Shortfall
(The following is a statement of Senator Ernest F. On Sunday night, the President announced that the Administration will be looking for an additional $87 billion for Iraq. This would bring the total amount spent there to over $160 billion. This request alone represents three times the amount the President requested for our nation's homeland security efforts this year. I was reluctant to create a Department of Homeland Security, because I felt bureaucratic reshuffling without adequate planning and expertise would detract from our ability to fight terrorism. But we are stuck with what we have, and now the Administration must take the steps necessary to make this bureaucracy work.
Port Security Legislation Reinforces Security
Like so many areas of our economy since the terrorist attacks of September 11, the port and maritime areas of the United States are being scrutinized for vulnerability to terrorism. Catastrophic scenarios are all too easy to imagine, and the threats can come from so many directions. To illustrate the complexity of the maritime law enforcement challenge, the Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral James M. "Imagine for a moment the information requirements associated with a hypothetical 6,000 TEU flag-of-convenience container ship with a multi-national crew cobbled together by a hiring agent who works for an Algerian vessel operator who chartered the vessel from a Greek ship owner whose corporate offices are in the Cayman Islands.
PORT SECURITY: Status Report since 9/11
This article focuses on the necessity to craft an effective network system while meeting the government's objectives in the basic rules for security and surveillance of Ports throughout America. This approach explores, from a programmatic perspective, the notion that dealing with the safety issues facing Homeland Security can be successfully accomplished only if technology interconnects the various agencies defending our Ports. It should be noted that system integration can be achieved with technology that exists today, incorporating wireless and broadband services through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to which all United States Administrators of Defense will have access. Defense budgeting with the intent to fight terrorism is here to stay.
