[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 24, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H5798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             PORT SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to talk about 
port security and the critical importance that increased funding for 
port security would have for my region of Long Beach and Los Angeles 
and to the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, last night I appeared before the Committee on Rules 
about an amendment that would provide funding for container security 
and port security. Regrettably, this amendment was not made in order. 
If my amendment had been made in order, this germane amendment would 
designate $20 million to establish a secure container and safe mobility 
pilot program. Further, this project would be carried out at the 
Nation's port with the highest volume of container traffic. This 
program would work in conjunction with existing city and local 
infrastructure in developing fast, efficient, effective and secure ways 
to move containers through the port complex and through surrounding 
cities and communities throughout the Nation.
  We recognize that not all containers that come into our country are 
inspected. We must provide resources to port security initiatives that 
help us utilize our existing infrastructure while making sure that our 
communities that receive these containers are protected. A program like 
this will set the standard for similar communities around the Nation 
that provide the infrastructure that move our Nation's goods out of the 
Nation and keep our economy moving forward.
  Long Beach and Los Angeles, our port complex, the largest in the 
country and the third largest in the world, receive 45 percent of the 
Nation's containers. These ports are a vital economic link to the rest 
of the Nation. Eighty percent of the goods that come into the country 
from the Pacific rim comes into our ports. If these ports in the 
communities that support this supply chain of goods movement were ever 
threatened or damaged, our economy would be stalled.
  In October of 2002 our Nation witnessed firsthand what happened to 
our economy when our ports are not moving goods out of the country. The 
lockout that occurred at the western ports served as a grim reminder of 
just how interconnected and how dependent we are on one another in 
moving our Nation's goods. The lockout that occurred at the western 
ports cost the U.S. economy an estimated $1 billion a day.
  We must provide support and precious resources to our ports to ensure 
that they are secure. In addition, we must provide security to the 
communities that are connected and support our ports. We cannot view 
port security as merely inside the gates. Ports are a part of our 
communities. The resources that we provide for port security also 
provide security for our Nation's communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I would have offered this amendment, and I offer this 
statement for the Record.

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