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Subcommittee On National Security Veterans Affairs And International Relations News

14 Mar 2002

Combating Terrorism: Protecting the United States

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.

06 Aug 2002

Facilitating Trade and Securing Seaports

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.