By Ron Thaniel
October 9, 2006

Hours before leaving Washington September 29 for the five-week election recess, Congress passed and sent to the President, the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006 (H.R. 4954).

H.R. 4954 requires the installation of radiation'screening equipment at the nation’s 22 largest ports by the end of 2007. In addition, it requires inspections of suspicious high-risk cargo at foreign ports and sets up a pilot program to scan for nuclear or “dirty bomb” materials in all U.S.-bound containers at three to-be-determined foreign ports.

In addition, the bill would authorize $400 million a year, over five years, for a grant program that would be available to individual ports.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has long expressed serious concerns that ports are ill-prepared for a terrorist attack. In March, the Conference of Mayors sent a letter to the Congress and Administration calling for measures to strengthen port security.

Immediately after 9/11, the Conference issued a National Action Plan on Safety and Security in America’s Cities. Again, in the Conference’s homeland security progress assessment released in October, the 2005 National Action Plan on Safety and Security in America’s Cities, the mayors continue to state that not enough is being done at our nation’s ports. Ports remain exposed to large scale acts of terrorism, including weapons of mass destruction or other dangerous materials.

The Conference of Mayors is disappointed that significant measures, including $1.1 billion for rail security improvements and another $3.4 billion in grants for mass transit security improvements, were rejected. Since 9/11, and again after the terror attacks on the public transportation systems in London, Madrid, and Moscow, the Conference has led lobbying efforts to increase funding for bus and rail security.