[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 208 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 208

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and implement 
  a plan to provide security for cargo entering the United States or 
        being transported in intrastate or interstate commerce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 23, 2003

   Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and implement 
  a plan to provide security for cargo entering the United States or 
        being transported in intrastate or interstate commerce.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CARGO SECURITY PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than March 31, 2003, the Under Secretary 
for Border and Transportation Security shall develop and submit a 
detailed plan to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives to--
            (1) ensure the adequacy of security measures for the 
        transportation of cargo into and in the United States; and
            (2) oversee the implementation, and ensure the adequacy, of 
        security measures with respect to cargo at airports and other 
        transportation facilities.
    (b) Implementation of Interim and Final Plan.--
            (1) Final plan.--Not later than March 31, 2004, the Under 
        Secretary for Border and Transportation Security shall fully 
        implement a plan to ensure cargo security for all cargo 
        entering the United States or cargo moving in intrastate or 
        interstate commerce in the United States.
            (2) Interim cargo security measures.--Between the date of 
        enactment of this Act and March 31, 2004, the Under Secretary 
        for Border and Transportation Security shall implement the 
        following cargo security measures:
                    (A) Random screening of at least 5 percent of cargo 
                at airports and other transportation facilities.
                    (B) An authentication policy for shippers to ensure 
                that shippers use documents with adequate security 
                features to prevent shippers that are not known to the 
                Federal Government from shipping cargo under the name 
                of known shippers.
                    (C) Regular audits of shippers, freight forwarders, 
                air carriers, and other entities involved in aviation 
                shipping in order to ensure full compliance with 
                security procedures and background checks for cargo 
                handlers.
                    (D) Development of a training program for entities 
                that handle cargo to ensure that cargo is properly 
                handled and to safeguard cargo from security breaches.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions 
of this section and to ensure that airports and other transportation 
facilities have state-of-the-art cargo screening equipment.
                                 <all>