Washington, DC-  Rep. Edward Markey, a senior Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, today expressed outrage over the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) announcement that it was issuing voluntary security guidelines for companies that transport the most hazardous chemicals on the nation’s railroads. 

WASHINGTON, DC– Only a few weeks after the Bush Administration approved the sale of British port operator Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation to a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), today a Republican-controlled House Subcommittee rejected a common-sense security measure to close the loophole that remains wide open for terrorists to sneak weapons of mass destruction into American ports across the country.  The amendment, which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that containers heading for ports in the U.S. have been screened using radiation and X-ray detectors, before they are loaded onto boats headed for this country was offered by Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior Democrat serving on the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity.  Rep. Markey’s amendment was defeated by a vote of (6-Y, 8-N), with every Democrat voting in yes and every Republican voting no. 

Washington, DC:  Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, made the following statement in response to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that revealed that security screeners at 21 U.S. airports failed to find bomb-making materials during recent government tests:

Washington, DC- Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity approved two important amendments to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Reorganization Act offered by Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior Democrat on the committee and a long-time champion of improving our nation’s air and hazmat transport security. Both of these amendments would provide critical security enhancements to two areas which are particularly vulnerable to terrorist attack, and represent a major victory for our nation’s homeland security given the consistent efforts of Republicans in Congress to thwart these security improvements.