[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 176 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1467-E1468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               AIR CARGO SECURITY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 31, 2017

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, thirteen years ago, the 9/
11 Commission raised red flags ``regarding the screening and transport 
of checked bags and cargo'' and called for ``[m]ore attention and 
resources'' to ``be directed to reducing or mitigating the threat posed 
by explosives in vessels' cargo holds.''
  Today, the threat of a terrorist attack using air cargo is 
significant. In fact, in July, then-Secretary of Homeland Security John 
Kelly identified cargo-based aviation attacks as a major concern, 
explaining ``there are people out there, very smart people, very 
sophisticated people who do nothing but try to figure out how to blow 
up an airplane in flight. . . . [T]here is a fair amount of cargo, what 
we would attribute to just cargo flown on passenger airplane on space 
available. [Terrorists] are constantly looking for ways to do this.''
  That same month, Australian authorities arrested four men on charges 
that that they plotted to detonate a bomb to bring down an Etihad 
Airways passenger plane on behalf of ISIS on July 15. Reportedly, ``a 
senior ISIS commander shipped partially assembled components of a bomb 
on a commercial cargo plane from Turkey to Australia . . . [and] two 
men in Australia assembled the parts into a functional explosive 
device.'' In response to the foiled Australia attack, the 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a security 
directive requiring any air cargo from Turkey bound for the U.S. to 
undergo enhanced screening. The Australia plot came seven years after a 
terrorist plot to ship bombs hidden in printer cartridges from Yemen to 
the United States onboard cargo planes was thwarted.
  This increase in the air cargo security risk comes at a time when the 
volume of goods being moved by air cargo has increased, with the 
volume, as of 2016 back to approximately 98.4 percent of pre-recession 
levels with airlines transporting 52 million metric tons of goods.
  In response to this security risk, I am introducing the ``Air Cargo 
Security Improvement Act of 2017.'' My legislation would direct the 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to take a number of steps 
to enhance its responsibilities for air cargo and require the agency to 
aggressively move towards addressing current and future threats to air 
cargo. Specifically, my legislation would clarify air cargo security 
responsibilities at TSA, encourage further technological developments 
for screening air cargo, review existing air cargo programs, and 
require the Department of Homeland Security to make permanent the Air 
Cargo Advance Screening Program.
  Mr. Speaker, a decade ago, I was the lead sponsor of legislation that 
addressed the concerns raised by the 9/11 Commission about the threat 
of an air cargo-based attack. The ``Implementing 9/11 Recommendations 
Act of 2007'' directed TSA to, for the first time, ensure that all 
cargo carried on passenger planes was screened. My bill recognizes the 
need to revisit that law and the stark reality that as technology has 
evolved so have terrorist capabilities. For instance, in 2007, it was 
unimaginable for terrorists to use laptops as bombs; however, in 2017, 
the threat of a laptop bomb was so severe that TSA considered banning 
laptops from airplane cabins, in response to intelligence about 
terrorist capabilities. The threat posed by terrorists' abilities and 
desires to exploit vulnerabilities cannot be understated and they have 
demonstrably set their targets on air cargo. We need to be timely and 
precise in addressing air cargo security,

[[Page E1468]]

as we cannot afford, nor should the American public tolerate, 
otherwise.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduce the ``Air Cargo Security Improvement Act of 
2017'' in the hopes that Congress will move with urgency to make 
Americans more secure from the threat of an air cargo-based terrorist 
attack and urge my colleagues to join me in working to advance this 
timely measure.

                          ____________________