House Republicans on Port Security: “Let’s Just Trust Them”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republicans today rejected a Democratic effort to make 100-percent scanning of shipping containers the policy of the United States.  Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Congressman Ed Markey, both of whom have been pushing the issue for weeks, offered 100-percent scanning as the motion to recommit on the SAFE Port bill, a port security bill that moved through the House today.  Republicans rejected the Nadler-Markey motion 222-202, opting out of absolute, verifiable cargo security in favor of an honor system. 

Congressman Nadler delivered the following statement on the House floor: 

“Mr. Speaker, I offer this motion to recommit with Mr. Markey and I thank him for his efforts on this issue.   

This bill is okay, but it’s not going to matter much if we don’t electronically scan every container.  All it takes is one atomic or radiological bomb to make 9/11 look like a firecracker – to kill hundreds of thousands of people, to cost hundred of billions of dollars, to bring commerce to a total halt for weeks or months, while every ship is searched by hand because we don’t have in place the means to scan every container.  That is what this motion is about. 

If we really want to make this country safe, we must demand that before any container is put on a ship bound for the United States that it be scanned electronically in the foreign port.  It’s too late if we find a nuclear bomb when the container arrives in the Los Angeles or New York.  Every container must be sealed with a tamper-proof seal that will tell us if it has been tampered with after it is scanned, and the results of the scan must be transmitted electronically to officials in the United States for examination.  Voting yes on this motion will institute that policy. 

This motion is identical to the amendment that as was unanimously agreed to by Chairman Young and the entire Transportation Committee a month ago.  This is not a partisan issue, unless you choose to make it one by voting ‘no.’  

They say the technology doesn’t exist.  The technology most certainly exists.  It is installed and operating in Hong Kong today, except that the results of those scans are stored on disks and not analyzed – because no one in the Department of Homeland Security can be bothered to read them.  For shame. 

The people who say we can't do this are the same people who told us 2 years ago that we couldn't get a bill of lading for every container 24 hours in advance, and who told us that if we searched every passenger, the airports would be gridlocked and the planes would never take off.

It is technologically feasible, it is relatively cheap, and it will not delay global commerce.   

If we continue to rely solely on a risk-based strategy, the terrorists will simply put the atomic or radiological bomb in a low-risk container from Wal-Mart.  The real risk is that a good company will have a container with sneakers on a truck in Indonesia on the way to a port, and the driver will stop for lunch, and while he is at lunch, terrorists will take out some sneakers and put in a bomb.  The bill of lading is not going to reflect that.  

The question on this motion is, do we or do we not want to risk American cities, and American lives, on the Chairman’s confidence in Wal-Mart’s paperwork?” 

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