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Homeland Security Panel Chair Backs Cargo Scanning By Jon Fox “I believe that the public will at the end of the day accept nothing less than 100 percent screening,” Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said after laying out his committee’s agenda during an address at George Washington University. The House earlier this month passed legislation that would require scanning of all U.S-bound cargo containers and the screening of all cargo on passenger flights for explosives. Last week, however, Thompson said he expected that those provisions might not appear in the Senate version. Critics of the expanded scanning requirements have called the measure simply unworkable, suggesting the costs could greatly outweigh the benefits. Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff told the House Homeland Security Committee last year that requiring 100 percent overseas scanning could cut The House bill requires the largest overseas ports to scan all cargo within three years and the smaller ports to follow no later than two years afterward. While some have criticized the imposition of a deadline, Thompson said a clear time frame is critical. “We believe if we don’t provide a time table it will never happen,” he said. Thompson said he hoped to use the radiation scanning pilot programs at three overseas ports mandated under the The committee also plans to focus on rail security in the coming months, Thompson said. Roughly $9 per passenger is spent on aviation security while only 2 cents are spent per passenger to secure rail transport from terrorist attacks, he said. “That’s really not where it should be,” Thompson said. “The real deal requires us to move forward on many of the homeland security initiatives that have languished over the years.” Invoking the rail bombings in Rail security is currently overseen by state and local governments, but Thompson suggested a larger role for the “We’re working with the industry and advocates to make sure that more than 2 cents of our money goes into it,” he said. “We’re going to bring the federal government into it to provide the necessary kind of direction.” Thompson noted that abroad one often sees more cameras, security dogs and foot patrols. Without suggesting similar measures in the “You have to know to some degree who’s traveling. You need to know what they’re carrying,” he said. He also called for additional congressional oversight to ensure that the priorities of the Homeland Security Department are in line with the emerging threats facing the nation. “First DHS has to get its house in order,” he said. The department’s Science and Technology Directorate must be strengthened to provide the most up-to-date technology to protect the Whereas the department has in the past bought off-the-shelf technology to adapt for homeland security needs, Thompson suggested a research division along the lines of the Defense Department’s Defense Advance Projects Research Agency, which produces some of the most cutting-edge defense innovations. The House committee also plans to take a closer look at Biowatch, a DHS program that monitors the air in major urban areas for biological agents. “It’s a very low-key program,” he said (see GSN, Jan. 11). “We will hold some hearings to see if it has had any success at all.” The Bioshield program, designed to fund research into countermeasures for biological and other WMD agents, would also get a second look, he said.
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