Security Briefing- Aug. 14-21
The Latest Headlines:
- Rep. Markey Questions DOE Security
- UPS Pilots' Union Calls for Tougher Air Cargo Rules
- Illinois Installing Cameras, Call Boxes at Rest Stops
- Airports Ask for Delay of Screening Deadline
- Texas Airports Get $36.7 Million in Grants
- Bush Wants Freedom in Security Dept. Staffing
- Air Marshal Program Reported in Disarray
- UPS Pilots' Union Calls for Tougher Air Cargo Rules
Rep. Markey Questions DOE Security
The Department of Energy has slashed its security forces by 40% over the last decade, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told the Associated Press Monday.DOE security has been in the headlines recently because of its plans to transfer nuclear materials around the country, particularly to South Carolina for reprocessing into commercial reactor fuel.
Also, numbers of uniformed guards at DOE sites like the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in Louisiana, the former nuclear weapons factory at Rocky Flats, Colo. and the Nevada Test Site have been cut -- by as much as 38%, according to documents released by Markey.
UPS Pilots' Union Calls for Tougher Air Cargo Rules
The president of the Independent Pilots Association said that the nation's air cargo operations have been overlooked in the rush to beef up airport security, the Associated Press reported.Robert Miller, IPA president, said that stricter security regulations have been applied disproportionately to passenger airlines, to the possible detriment of cargo pilots.
IPA represents, among others, pilots for United Parcel Service, AP reported.
Miller said that there is no difference between a 757 jet that carries passengers and a 757 jet that carries cargo and because of that, there should be no difference in the security surrounding both planes, AP said.
Mark Giuffre, a UPS spokesman in Louisville, said UPS bolstered security after Sept. 11, but is fairly tightlipped about the changes.
Discussing security would be counterproductive, Giuffre said, adding that UPS in some cases exceeds federal security standards.
UPS is ranked No. 1 in the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
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Illinois Installing Cameras, Call Boxes at Rest Stops
The Illinois Department of Transportation is spending about $4 million to outfit highway rest stops with security cameras and emergency call boxes, the Associated Press reported.The system, which is slated to be up and running by mid-October, will allow motorists to contact the state police and give a crime report if they feel threatened at a rest stop, AP said.
The boxes are equipped with a button that, when pushed, calls the authorities and starts recording the events at the rest stop, AP reported. Transport Topics
Airports Ask for Delay of Screening Deadline
Officials from 133 major U.S. airports asked the Senate for legislation delaying by one year the deadline for screening baggage, Bloomberg reported.In a letter to the Senate, officials from airports in St. Louis, Miami, Washington, Philadelphia and Seattle, among others, asked that the Senate follow the House's lead and pass a bill to push the deadline back because they don't feel they can adequately prepare to screen all baggage for explosives by Dec. 31, Bloomberg said.
If baggage screening delays flights, it can disrupt the flow of cargo that travels in the bellies of passenger aircraft.
Bloomberg said the airports represented in the letter handle 74% of the air travelers in 46 states. Transport Topics
Texas Airports Get $36.7 Million in Grants
Federal grants totaling $36.7 million will go to 15 Texas airports for safety and security improvements, the Associated Press reported Sunday.Operational changes at airports, especially in security measures, can affect the schedules for loading and unloading cargo brought by trucks.
Grants ranging from $332,000 to $7.6 million will go to airports in Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, Austin, Brownsville, College Station, Gregg County, Harlingen, Laredo, Longview, Lubbock, San Antonio and Tyler, AP said.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, accepting the check at Love Field in Dallas from Michael Jackson, deputy transportation secretary, said the grant will enable airports to better protect against terrorist threats, AP reported. Transport Topics
Bush Wants Freedom in Security Dept. Staffing
President Bush used a speech in North Dakota Aug.15 to ask the Democratic-controlled Senate to approve the creation of a Homeland Security Department with no bureaucratic strings attached, the Associated Press reported.AP said Bush wants the unfettered right to assign and transfer personnel to the new department at will.
Democrats have said that employees should be hired based on existing Civil Service policies and have union protection as well. Bush has replied to critics by saying the Democrats just want to saddle him and the department with a "big, fat bureaucratic rule book" and that they are seeking to protect their interests and their turf, AP reported.
Senate leaders, including Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), have questioned Bush's motives in talks on the new department, stating the two sides agree on about 90% of the proposal, AP said.
Bush made his speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, home state of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D), a potential opponent in the 2004 election, AP said. Transport Topics
Air Marshal Program Reported in Disarray
In a report Thursday, USA Today said that the air marshal program has been plagued with difficulties, to the point where as many as 80 marshals have walked off the job.The air marshal program is designed to train an elite corps of undercover law enforcement officers to prevent hijackings and other airborne crimes, but reduced standards for admittance after Sept. 11 have left many marshals disillusioned, the paper said.
USA Today said that interviews with more than a dozen current and former air marshals show a growing morale problem, with one marshal saying that it has become like security guard training for the mall.
The paper said at least 80 marshals have quit and other marshals are considering a class-action lawsuit over working conditions they believe put flyers at risk.
Marshals are upset that some field offices have not been able to supply enough ammunition for shooting practice, while others feel a newly instituted dress code makes them identifiable to terrorists, the paper reported. Some marshals feel that their schedule are being mishandled -- with some marshals not flying for weeks and others pulling 12- to 16-hour shifts, even falling asleep or getting sick on planes. Transport Topics
