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Security and Accuntability for Every Port Act

Date: May 4, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security


SECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY PORT ACT -- (House of Representatives - May 04, 2006)

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Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4954, the SAFE Port Act. And first I would like to commend the gentleman and the gentlewoman from California, Mr. Lungren and Ms. Harman, for their leadership on this strong, bipartisan bill.

Also, thanks to the effective leadership of Chairman King, the committee passed this bill on April 26 by a vote of 29-0.

Madam Chairman, this bill is a comprehensive proposal and helps safeguard our ports, all without disrupting commerce. For example, the bill authorizes the Container Security Initiative. This effort would identify and examine high-risk containers at foreign ports before they are loaded onto ships bound for the U.S.

The bill also contains provisions which would help track and protect containers on the way to our shores.

The bill also establishes a new Directorate for Policy, Planning and International Affairs at DHS.

This provision, which is a product of my subcommittee, implements one of the findings of Secretary Chertoff's top-to-bottom review. In particular, the new Directorate would, A, review all departmental cargo, security programs, policies and initiatives; B, develop department-wide cargo security policies; and, C, coordinate departmental cargo security programs with other Federal departments and agencies.

Madam Chairman, port security is especially critical in my home State of Alabama, where the Port of Mobile has an economic impact of at least $3 billion per year on my State. It is the 12th busiest port in the U.S. and employs more than 118,000 Alabamians. Last year alone, this facility imported and exported 42,000 containers and 50 million tons of cargo. It is also the largest coal import terminal in the country and is expected to process 144,000 cruise ship passengers this year alone.

The SAFE Port Act is a good bill. It is a bipartisan solution for helping strengthen the security of our country, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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