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Maine Ports Director: Bureaucracy Harms Security NewsMax.com Wires PORTLAND, Maine -- Security at the nation's ports is better than before the Sept. 11 attacks, but things would be even better if not for procedures and agencies that are "overly bureaucratic and non-responsive," the director of ports and transportation in Portland, Maine, said Wednesday. Testifying in support of legislation to improve port security, Jeffrey Monroe told the Homeland Security Committee that the government needs to move swiftly. "I am often asked if we are better off than we were on 9/11? Yes, we are more aware and better prepared than we were. And no, because much of what we have created to address our security needs has become overly bureaucratic and non-responsive," he said. Wednesday's hearing focused on the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act, which is sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Patty Murray, D-Wash. The bill calls for creating a voluntary program that would give cargo companies incentives for complying with more stringent security measures. Benefits would include priority processing for security searches and streamlined billing of customs duties. Story Continues Below
Collins, chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee, said ports are a crucial link in the nation's supply chain and that they're "profoundly and unacceptably at risk." Approximately 95 percent of our nation's trade, worth nearly $1 trillion, enters or leaves through U.S. ports, which receive more than 55,000 visits from foreign vessels each year, Collins said. "We cannot eliminate the risk of terrorist attack, but better supply chain security can build a stronger shield against terrorism without hampering trade," she said. Port security is a continuing concern in the wake of the Bush administration's support for a contract that would give Dubai-owned DP World control over six U.S. ports. An outcry in Congress led DP World to sell the U.S. operations to an American firm. And last week, senators said the federal government must move quickly to strengthen security at entry points following the disclosure that undercover investigators breached security and slipped nuclear material into the U.S. In addition to Monroe, homeland security, business and union officials and a Seattle port official testified on Wednesday. James P. Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, whose 1.4 million members include drivers who handle port cargo, agreed that port security remains a big problem that must be addressed. "Our ports remain vulnerable when the gates are left wide open. And that is the situation at U.S. ports today," he said.
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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