[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9577-S9578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for this month's session of 4 weeks on the 
floor of the Senate prior to our recess for the elections, we have 
focused and will continue to focus on the safety and security of the 
American people.
  There are a lot of issues that need to be dealt with that we are 
dealing with in committees and in conference, but the focus on the 
floor very much is the safety and security of families listening right 
now, and to our colleagues and their families. We know, having seen 
what had come close to happening with the events in Great Britain in 
terms of the terrorist attacks and the plot there that was foiled, we 
are at risk in this country. Therefore, it is our obligation to address 
these issues and to do it in a way where we know we are equipped to 
both obtain information that can undercut these plots and foil the 
terrorists in whatever activity they are dreaming up.
  In addition, we have a challenge that is being addressed in committee 
today, was addressed in committee in the House yesterday, in terms of 
the terrorist tribunals and military commissions. It needs to be 
understood by my colleagues and the American people that the detainees 
we have today--the enemy combatants, people who have wished us harm, 
people who planned the 9/11 attack--until we act in Congress, in this 
Senate, they simply cannot be tried. They cannot be brought to justice. 
That is where we are today. That is why there is so much appropriate 
focus on making sure our Government, our military personnel, our 
intelligence officers have the tools they need to keep us safe.
  So those two issues, the surveillance issue and the military 
commissions and tribunals, are issues we are addressing, again, in 
committee. The President has placed a bill before this body. I 
introduced it about a week and a half ago. That language is available, 
and I encourage my colleagues to study that.
  Mr. President, that brings me to the issues of security that I 
mentioned in terms of surveillance, the detainees

[[Page S9578]]

who are at Guantanamo Bay. Senator McConnell and Senator Specter and I 
actually visited that naval base last week and learned a lot.
  We have border security we are addressing in the Department of 
Defense appropriations bill that we passed a week and a half ago that 
is in conference and in our Homeland Security appropriations bill, both 
of which aggressively address border security. So we have border 
security. We have port security. We have the military commissions that 
are being addressed for those individuals at Guantanamo Bay. We have 
support for our troops in terms of maintaining our security through the 
Department of Defense appropriations bill that is currently in 
conference. And then we have the whole issue of surveillance.
  Today we are going to finish on port security. We all know--and we 
are reminded by the events surrounding our reminiscences of 9/11 with 
that fifth anniversary--we are fighting a war against radical 
ideologues. These are militant extremists, and they have a single-
minded goal of destroying our Nation. Increasingly, people are 
realizing that, but it is taking these reminiscences and the 
remembering of the great tragedy of 9/11, coupled with the reality of 
what very well could have happened to hundreds and, indeed, thousands 
of Americans if that plot had not been uncovered by the British.
  We know the terrorists are not going to stop. And it is not just a 
war in one part of the world, it is a war against an ideology. They are 
not going to stop at anything. The enemy is creative. I mentioned the 
attacks that could have emerged out of the plot which was uncovered by 
the British. Who would have ever deemed imaginable a day when business 
travelers could not be carrying contact lens solution in their carry-
on. It is because of an attempt with a ``Gatorade'' bomb.
  The terrorists are always thinking. They are always thinking of how 
they can stay one step ahead of even what our imagination is. They are 
searching for our weak points. They are seeking ways to exploit our 
weak points. That is why we have to remain vigilant, and that is why we 
have to address these issues on the floor. The substance of the bill 
that is on the floor does just that, the port security bill. That is 
vigilance.

  Nowhere is it clearer to me that we have to be vigilant than at 
America's 300 maritime ports of entry. We talk about border security. 
Well, part of border security is port security. It is a border we have 
to close and appropriately monitor to prevent the terrorists from doing 
us harm.
  These ports are economic centers. As economic centers, our more than 
300 sea and river ports are targets in and of themselves. For people 
who want to hurt us, want to hurt our economy, they can become a 
target. These ports become even more attractive when they are close to 
urban centers. These ports facilitate the rapid dissemination of cargo 
from around the globe to each of our cities and towns. Thus, we know 
the terrorists, when they want to hurt us, would potentially address 
these ports.
  We have done a lot to secure our ports, but the fact remains, they 
are too porous. That brings us back to the importance of this bill. The 
bill before us plugs the holes that exist. It toughens security 
standards for all cargo. And it strengthens and improves programs 
designed to screen cargo at foreign ports and secures the international 
supply chain from the very start to the very end.
  Technologies have advanced. We have developed more accurate detection 
tools. But we are not using those tools throughout our system. We are 
not using them universally. Terrorists have access to stealthier 
weapons, and that is a huge vulnerability just asking to be exploited 
if we do not keep up, if we do not keep pace. That is why we must pass 
this bill tonight.
  The bill establishes a risk-based grant program to help assist ports 
with training personnel and implementing new security standards. The 
men and women who operate our ports are our first line of defense. We 
have entrusted these stewards of security with a serious, with a grave 
responsibility.
  Accordingly, the bill ensures that the Department of Homeland 
Security will move forward with background checks for all port workers 
so we know who is on the ground at these critical facilities. It sets 
up procedures for resuming port operations and trade safely and quickly 
after a terrorist attack to help minimize any effect or any shock to 
our economy. It establishes the appropriate protocols to ensure that if 
a terrorist does strike, our ports are not closed longer than 
necessary.
  And importantly, we also need protocols in place so we do not reopen 
ports too early. An incident at a port could be a red herring, a 
distraction to disguise other, more damaging terrorist activities.
  These are just a few of the highlights of the Port Security 
Improvement Act. At its core, it is a multipronged approach to plugging 
the holes that exist in port security. It institutionalizes multiple 
and redundant security layers. From the factory of origin to cargo 
container, from cargo container to port warehouse, from port warehouse 
to cargo ship, from cargo ship to the port of calling, and from the 
port of calling to the final destination, at each step this bill 
toughens our standards. We are making it harder for a terrorist's dirty 
bomb to hide anonymously in a cargo container. We are making it harder 
for terrorists to tamper with cargo containers. We are making it harder 
for terrorists to use our ports as target practice. And we are making 
it harder for terrorists to use our ports to stealthily gain access to 
the rest of our homeland.
  The terrorists we face have a radical agenda. They are ever-vigilant 
in monitoring and assessing our weaknesses and always looking for new 
ways to harm us. We must be ever-vigilant in identifying our weaknesses 
and minimizing and eradicating them. That is what this Port Security 
Improvement Act does. It is my hope my colleagues will join me in 
supporting it and in passing this important piece of legislation this 
afternoon.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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