[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5634-5635]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          SECURE OUR COASTLINE

  Mr. CLELAND. Madam President, I am proud to be a part of this body 
which wisely acted to improve border security last night. As we 
approach the end of April, I am here today to urge my House colleagues 
to act on the issue of port security, which the Senate passed 
unanimously last year. Our Nation's coastline is over 95,000 miles--by 
far our most prolific border. Yet, despite the tremendous national 
mobilization to increase security since September 11, protecting our 
seaports has been a somewhat elusive goal. Although the Senate acted 
last December to tighten security at our Nation's ports, the 
legislation is still stalled in the House of Representatives.
  In my home state of Georgia, ports play an important role in 
international commerce and military support. The Port of Brunswick, GA, 
with three marine terminals, is growing rapidly. Brunswick is the home 
of a world-class auto and machinery import-export processing facility 
as well as an expanding forest products and agri-bulk operation. With 
the completion of the new Sidney Lanier Bridge this year and the on-
going deepening of the Brunswick Harbor channel, the future of this 
operation is even brighter.
  At the Port of Savannah, which brings in the eighth largest cargo 
volume in the Nation, ships carry iron, steel, lumber, machinery, and 
paper products.
  It was the fastest growing container shipping operation in the Nation 
during calendar year 2001, and the only port to experience double-digit 
growth for the year. The total volume of business at the port has grown 
steadily over the last decade, reflecting its important contribution as 
a powerful economic benefit for importers, exporters and consumers 
located throughout the entire southeast region of the United States. 
The Port of Savannah is also an important strategic ally to our 
Nation's military, serving as a first responder for deployment of 
military equipment, supplies and personnel to hot spots around the 
world.
  To utilize this important port, ships must traverse the Savannah 
River and pass between historic River Street, with its shops and 
restaurants, and the new Convention Center and hotel on Hutchinson 
Island, which can accommodate over 10,000 guests and employees. On any 
given day, there are thousands of people walking the streets of this 
beautiful, old town. If someone with sinister motives were able to gain 
access to this channel, they could easily wreak havoc on a large number 
of people in a short period of time. Imagine this situation repeated at 
ports throughout the country, many of which are located around large 
population centers. A New York Times article from November 2001 sums up 
the problem with a description of a port in Portland, Maine:

       The unscrutinized containers, the bridge, the oil tanks, 
     the dormant but still radioactive nuclear power plant 20 
     miles north of the harbor--all form a volatile mix in a time 
     of terrorism.

  One must not forget that 68 nuclear power plants are located along 
navigable waters, and in my State, we also face maritime security risks 
as a result of the opening of a liquefied natural gas terminal LNG. One 
LNG carrier can carry enough gas to heat the homes of over 30,000 
families.
  Our ports and waterways are vulnerable. The Interagency Commission on 
Crime and Security in U.S. Seaports reports:

       The state of security in U.S. seaports generally ranges 
     from poor to fair, and in a few cases, good.

  This same report surveyed 12 large ports and found that only 3 
controlled port access from the land, and that 9 of these ports did not 
control access via the water. To realize the ramifications, we only 
need to remember the U.S.S. Cole.
  While Congress did appropriate over $93 million in funds for port 
security upgrades last year, we can and must do more. We have an 
opportunity, and a duty, to act to help prevent a terrorist attack on 
our ports before it happens. In December, the Senate unanimously passed 
S. 1214, the Port and Maritime Security Act of 2001. I am a cosponsor 
of this important legislation because I understand the crippling affect 
a terrorist attack at our ports would have on the Nation's commerce as 
well as our people.

[[Page 5635]]

  Ninety-five percent of foreign trade travels on water. After 
September 11, the Nation's air travel system was halted for days, 
crippling commercial airlines, the postal service, and the 
transportation of goods and people worldwide.
  Millions of dollars were lost in unrealized revenue as a result of 
only 4 days. The airports however, had a security system in place. They 
only needed adjusting in order to reopen our skies.
  However, what security system is in place at our ports? If something 
happened at my home State's port of Savannah or Brunswick, how would 
this Nation respond? I believe Americans would rightly expect seaborne 
shipments to stop. This means that the employment of over 1 million 
people would be in jeopardy; over $74 billion in annual gross domestic 
product would halt; personal income contributions of over $52 billion 
would disappear, and local and Federal revenue exceeding $20 billion 
would dry up. The ripple effects throughout our Nation's economy and 
the world's--because sea shipment is the ultimate example of globaliza-
tion--would be devastating. Unlike the airports, restoring normal sea 
shipments would take longer than 4 days because there is no system in 
place to upgrade but rather a patchwork of security initiatives that 
may not allow for any quick or uniform upgrades. In view of all of 
these disturbing facts, I urge my House colleagues to take up and pass 
S. 1214, which contains important provisions to make our seaports more 
secure.
  At a minimum, S. 1214 requires security assessments and authorizes 
funding for these assessments at our ports, which some port authorities 
have done already. The Georgia Ports Authority--GPA--for example, has 
already conducted this assessment with its own funds.
  This report recommends a major increase in the number of surveillance 
cameras, lighting, fencing and other perimeter security measures at 
Savannah and Brunswick. It also recommends the addition of some 40 new 
law enforcement and other security personnel to enhance the 60 person 
police force now deployed at the Port of Savannah and to also provide 
additional coverage in Brunswick. In addition, there is a 
recommendation for a major expansion of the credentialing system for 
personnel and vehicles that have access to the port facilities.
  We do not yet have the price tag for all of these improvements, but 
we know that it will be costly. I am certain that GPA will be applying 
for Federal funding to assist in these costs, and I will strongly 
support their application as we work through the budget process. The 
$93 million grant program Congress established was only a first step 
toward strengthening our seaports, and S. 1214 would help up get closer 
to that goal.
  This legislation also requires background checks for personnel 
employed in security Sensitive positions.
  Additionally, S. 1214 authorizes funding for screening and detection 
equipment, and it requires crew and cargo manifests to be reported to 
the U.S. Customs Service before the ship arrives at a domestic port, 
not after.
  In order to help coordinate the many agencies and law enforcement 
personnel at our Nation's ports, the bill encourages, where possible, 
locating these personnel at the same facility.
  Additionally, after working with the bill's authors, I drafted a 
provision included in the Senate passed bill which establishes a pilot 
program operated by the U.S. Customs Service to ensure the integrity 
and security of cargo entering the United States. Specifically, this 
provision calls for Customs to explore the types of technology 
available that can be used to ensure a ship's goods have not been 
tampered with. Such technology could enable ``preapproved'' cargo to 
enter the United States on an expedited basis.
  This program would also require communication and coordination with 
foreign ports and foreign Customs officials and shippers, at the point 
the goods are loaded onto ships bound for our land, and would likely 
result in prescreening of American bound goods at these foreign ports.
  This ``extension'' of our borders to enable screening of containers 
at foreign ports translates into a greater chance of eliminating 
threats at home and ensuring that properly handled and safe cargoes can 
be moved through the system so that we can focus on potentially more 
dangerous cargoes.
  Commander Stephen Flynn of the U.S. Coast Guard and a Senior Fellow 
at the Council on Foreign Relations believes that homeland security can 
be supported through ``establishing private-sector cooperation, 
focusing on point-of-origin security measures, and embracing the use of 
new technologies.''
  I wholeheartedly agree with Commander Flynn, and I believe my 
amendment accomplishes these goals.
  I am pleased with the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service, 
Robert Bonner. He is in support of my amendment. In a speech given on 
January 17, 2002, Commissioner Bonner announced the Service's Container 
Security Initiative.
  With over half of our Nation's containers originating at only 10 
international ports, targeting these ports for an ``international 
security standard [for] sea containers,'' as Commissioner Bonner put 
it, would result in pre-screening of most of the goods entering the 
country. The Commissioner continued by stating that pre-screening of 
containers and the use of technology are vital parts of this program:

       A first step in the [container security initiative] begins 
     by examining and comparing our targeting methods with those 
     of our international partners. And we should consider 
     dispatching teams of targeting experts to each other's major 
     seaports to benchmark targeting and to make sure that all 
     high risk containers are inspected by the same technology 
     that can detect anomalies requiring physical examination 
     inside the container. . . . Having your containers checked 
     and pre-approved for security against the terrorist threat at 
     a mega-port participating in this program should and likely 
     will carry tangible benefits.

  I look forward to working with Commissioner Bonner and the Customs 
Service on this initiative, as well as implementation of the pilot 
program called for in my amendment, and I have written to the 
Commissioner conveying my strong interest in the CSI program and 
pledging my full cooperation in implementing it. Additionally, I was 
pleased to read in the April 16 Washington Post that several U.S. 
businesses have signed on to participate in such a program to better 
ensure the integrity and safety of goods entering the United States.
  I look forward to reviewing the successes and recommendations 
resulting from this important port security initiative.
  One of the Customs Service's vital partners in the current port 
security regime is the U.S. Coast Guard. They were among some of the 
first respondents to the homeland security call on and after September 
11.
  I applaud the President for including the Coast Guard funding level 
increases in his budget, which will better enable the Coast Guard to 
carry out its multifaceted security initiatives--from monitoring our 
ports to search and rescue to drug interdiction programs.
  In a Washington Post column from Sunday, March 3, about the potential 
development of weapons of mass destruction by Al Quaeda, the author 
writes:

       In ``tabletop exercises'' conducted as high as Cabinet 
     level, President Bush's national security team has 
     highlighted difficult choices the chief executive would face 
     if the new sensors picked up a radiation signature on a boat 
     steaming up the Potomac River . . .

  Congress must send the President a strong port security bill before 
it is too late. I urge the House to promptly pass S. 1214.

                          ____________________