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New Brunswick, NJ --- Pointing to the fact that nine chemical plants in the New Jersey area are at risk of a terrorist attack that could affect more than a million people, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today said he will soon reintroduce legislation to improve security and reduce hazards at these facilities and hundreds of others around the nation. Pallone ’s legislation in the House is the companion to legislation that will be introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ).
"Three years have passed since 9/11 and Congress has yet to seriously address the need to secure our nation's chemical plants," Pallone said. "Senator Corzine and I will once again introduce legislation that will finally secure these plants so they cannot become a dangerous weapon in the hand of terrorists."
In 2003, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report, done at the request of Pallone and U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, that found, with regard to terrorist threats, that no federal agency has assessed the extent of security preparedness of chemical plants; and, no federal requirements are in place to require chemical plants to assess their vulnerabilities and take steps to reduce them.
Pallone also pointed to GAO ’s finding that even though the chemical manufacturing industry has undertaken a number of voluntary initiatives, such efforts are not sufficient to assure public safety.
The New Jersey congressman agrees with officials at both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that, in order to be effective, legislation passed by Congress must require chemical companies to address security threats.
"The Bush administration and the Republican leadership in Congress can no longer afford to drag their feet on chemical security," Pallone continued. "It's time the chemical companies be required to identify high risk facilities so they can then determine what action needs to be taken to secure them before they're targeted by our enemies." |
