FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2006
CONTACT: Chris Paulitz
SENATOR HUTCHISON DISCUSSES PORT SECURITY WITH PORT OF HOUSTON OFFICIALS
WASHINGTON, DC -- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today met with Port of Houston officials to discuss her port security legislation – the Shipping Container Security Act – and the critical need for new initiatives at home and abroad to secure our ports. They also discussed issues specific to the Port of Houston.
“The Port of Houston is critical to our nation’s economic and national security,” Sen. Hutchison said. “We have taken steps to address port security, but there is still much to be done. I am pushing for Congress to take action on my legislation that will help secure cargo before it leaves foreign ports and will also expand our inspection and tracking capabilities here in the U.S.”
As the nation's leading port in handling foreign cargo, and the second-ranked U.S. port in terms of total tonnage, this legislation would greatly enhance protective measures at the Port of Houston.
Sen. Hutchison sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) on February 24, 2006 urging him to hold a vote on her Shipping Container Security Act, S. 376, following the debate over a United Arab Emirates company planning to take over operations of several major U.S. ports.
Key provisions of Sen. Hutchison’s legislation include:
- Require all foreign countries shipping goods to the U.S. to grant access to U.S. inspectors so that containers headed to the U.S. are able to be inspected at their port of origin;
- Develop and implement a comprehensive plan to increase the number of containers inspected as they enter the U.S;
- Direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to design a tracking system that would enable DHS to monitor the transport of cargo within the U.S. until it reached its final destination.
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