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Senate passes security bill

Ports measure calls for $6.7B to hire more customs officers, add nuclear radiation scanners and dole out grants to U.S. seaports

BY CAROL EISENBERG | Newsday Washington Bureau

September 15, 2006

WASHINGTON - Eager to burnish their national-security credentials before midterm elections, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill yesterday to strengthen the nation's port security. But it beat back a Democratic proposal that would have set deadlines for scanning overseas cargo for nuclear weapons or "dirty" bombs.

The 98-0 vote underscores the priority that both parties have given to port security since a Dubai company's bid to take control of American ports in February emphasized many vulnerabilities of the nation's port system.

Security analysts have repeatedly warned that terrorists could smuggle nuclear weapons into some of the 11 million cargo containers that enter the country by sea each year.

"We have tried in this bill to strike the right balance - to put in place a security regime that is going to make our ports and our people safer, but we've done it without hampering free trade," said Maine Republican Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

The $6.7-billion legislation, which now must be reconciled with a House measure passed in May, calls for installing equipment to scan for radiological devices at the 22 busiest U.S. seaports - allowing 98 percent of the cargo in American ports to be screened for nuclear weapons or "dirty" bombs by the end of next year. The bill also would set up new tracking systems for discovering and monitoring high-risk cargo, accelerate the creation of a transportation-worker identification card and award $400 million in grants to individual ports.

In a statement yesterday, President George W. Bush indicated his intention to sign the legislation.

"By furthering our coordination with responsible countries throughout the world, the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006 will help secure the global supply chain and help ensure the smooth flow of commerce into and out of the U.S.," he said.

But several Democrats who voted for the bill said it did not go far enough.

"We need a mandate," said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who had proposed that all overseas cargo be scanned for nuclear or "dirty" bombs within the next four years, based on a model being used in Hong Kong. "We don't want to be in a situation where we say 'what if'. 'What if we had done more?' Because clearly, as of now, we're not doing enough."

But Republican congressional leaders and the Bush administration defeated that amendment, saying technical problems with the Hong Kong program were still to be worked out. Collins argued that racing to implement unproven technology would create backlogs that could cripple the global economy.

The Senate did agree, however, to set up pilots in three foreign ports, and to expand those if they worked. It also incorporated a Schumer proposal for an "Apollo project" to develop new nuclear screening technology, allocating $70 million for research and development.

Highlights of the bill

Allocates $835 million next year to put nuclear detectors at the 22 largest U.S. ports that would scan about 98 percent of incoming cargo.

Authorizes a pilot program to scan all containers leaving three as-yet-unnamed foreign ports.

Calls for expediting incoming cargo from manufacturers previously approved on security grounds.

Proposes hiring 1,000 additional Customs and Border Protection officers.

Provides $400 million in grants to individual ports.