WASHINGTON — Democrats offered several amendments to beef up security at the nation’s ports on Tuesday, as the Senate debated the Port Security Improvement Act that would take steps to full screening of cargo entering the U.S.
The port security bill authorizes $6 billion in funding over six years to improve security at ports and railways. The act would launch a pilot program at three foreign ports to test and establish a 100 percent integrated-screening system for radiation within one year. It would also require 22 U.S. ports to establish by the end of next year procedures and technology to examine all U.S. containers for radiation.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill this week, though Democrats maintain it falls short of what is needed to protect the nation’s ports and supply chains from a terrorist attack. They argue the estimated 5 percent scanning rate of more than 11 million containers entering the country annually is dangerously low. Republican leaders in Congress have resisted full inspection, maintaining it is not practical.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) introduced two amendments. The first would require, within four years, that every container entering the U.S. pass through a three-layered scanning system similar to one now used at the port of Hong Kong. Foreign ports participating in the Container Security Initiative — about 40, representing 80 percent of all U.S. imports — would be required to adopt the advanced screening system within two years. The system scans every container for nuclear materials, takes an internal image of the container’s contents and marks the container with a bar code or radio frequency identification tag so security personnel can track the box at any point during shipping.
“Shipping companies will have to put these scanners in and they will have to pass along the costs to their customers, but I doubt U.S. consumers will see an increase” in the cost of imported products, Schumer said on the Senate floor. “The amount is so small and the competition in the shipping industry is so large.”
The system in Hong Kong, deployed by Hutchison Whampoa, costs about $8 a container, which represents about 0.2 percent of the $2,000 it costs to send a container from Hong Kong to California, he said.
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Schumer’s second amendment, dubbed the Apollo Project, would direct the Department of Homeland Security to distribute $500 million in competitive grants over two years for research and development of new technology, which also would be funded by a seaport fee.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) introduced an amendment requiring Customs & Border Protection to develop standards for inspection at foreign ports of cargo being shipped to the country. It also would provide assistance to foreign ports to improve cargo security, expedite the Coast Guard’s international port inspection program and provide $648 million in funding.
Retailers and wholesalers that imported $89.2 billion worth of apparel and textiles last year are concerned about Congressional intervention in global commerce.
“There is certainly a lot of interest in continuing making ports more secure … but when you come up with a goal that is arbitrary and [an] approach like that [Schumer’s], it’s not designed to fix the problem but make a statement,” said Stephen Lamar, senior vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
Erik Autor, vice president and international trade counsel at the National Retail Federation, said, “We believe a pilot program that tests technology, ensures safety and sets up procedures for enhancing the whole scanning process is a good and appropriate way to proceed. You cannot mandate the use of untested technology by a certain date.”