Security Briefs - May 30 - June 6
The Latest Headlines:
- House Passes Port Antiterrorism Bill
- New E-Seals Secure Cargo, Increase Shipping Efficiency
- TSA Screeners Promised Whistleblower Protection Process
- Airport Officials Urge Baggage Screening Delay
- Loy Named to COO spot at TSA
- Customs Seeks to Block Nukes
- FBI Eases Domestic Spying Restrictions
- New E-Seals Secure Cargo, Increase Shipping Efficiency
House Passes Port Antiterrorism Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday passed the Maritime Transportation Antiterrorism Act of 2002, intended to improve security at U.S. ports and waterways.Since trucks transfer cargo to and from ports, changes in security can affect the way the industry does business.
The bill now goes to a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions. The House version focuses on terrorism and gives the Transportation Security Administration authority to oversee container security, but the Senate's bill focuses on overall port security and grants the same authority to the Customs Service, the Journal of Commerce reported.
New E-Seals Secure Cargo, Increase Shipping Efficiency
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Wednesday it has finished testing an electronic seal designed to assure that secure cargo entering the U.S. has not been compromised during its travel.he device, called an E-seal, is attached to the cargo and transmits information as it passes reader devices.
This technology could facilitate the inspection process for many truckers, offering greater accuracy in manifest information, less paperwork to handle, improved port and Customs clearances and new shipment tracking methods, DOT said.
DOT plans to use such devices at inspection points at seaports, along trade corridors and at U.S. land border crossings, it said.
The testing was carried out through the DOT Intelligent Transportation Systems program to improve the security, safety and efficiency of freight handling by developing new intermodal freight technology. Transport Topics
TSA Screeners Promised Whistleblower Protection Process
The Transportation Security Administration said Monday it will provide whistleblower protection to security screeners, preventing retaliation for reporting wrongdoings they encounter.The U.S. Office of the Special Counsel will handle all complaints of retaliation, investigating filed reports and issuing recommendations to the Under Secretary of Transportation, who will then decide if corrective action is necessary.
Security screeners were not initially covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act, which does cover all other employees of the TSA.
The TSA was created by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. Transport Topics
Airport Officials Urge Baggage Screening Delay
Officials from 39 major U.S. airports have warned Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta that unless Congress pushes back a Dec. 31 deadline to screen all checked bags for explosives, air travel will be seriously disrupted, the New York Times reported this weekend.Trucks are used in the pickup and delivery of cargo that travels in the bellies of passenger airplanes.
In a letter dated May 29, the officials expressed doubts that the U.S. Department of Transportation could hire enough screeners to insure its goal of a 10-minute maximum wait.
Long waits, the officials said, could put the still recovering airline industry at further risk, the Times reported. The International Air Transport Association said Monday that the world’s airlines could lose $6 billion this year. Transport Topics
Loy Named to COO spot at TSA
Retired Coast Guard Commandant Adm. James M. Loy will join the Transportation Security Administration as deputy under secretary and chief operating officer, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta announced May 30.In his new position, Loy will report directly to Under Secretary for Transportation Security John Magaw, the head of the TSA.
Mineta called Loy a "world-class executive and an experienced transportation professional," and said TSA's "already strong team will benefit from this phenomenal addition."
Loy retired in a change-of-command ceremony May 30 in Washington after 38 years in the Coast Guard. He is being succeeded by Adm. Thomas H. Collins, who was vice-commandant.
Loy will take up his new duties after a brief vacation with his wife, Kay. Transport Topics
Customs Seeks to Block Nukes
There are no guarantees a terrorist can't smuggle a nuclear weapon into the U.S., Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said Wednesday.Trucks, which carry a variety of loads across the borders and pick up and deliver containers at ports, are vulnerable to terrorists' threats at such points.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Bonner said every Customs inspector will be equipped with a pocket-sized radiation detector by January. In addition, he said, the Customs Service is working with other countries to screen cargo containers before their shipment to the U.S.
With roughly 6 million cargo containers entering U.S. seaports each year, Bonner said it is important to ensure they are not used to smuggle in terrorists or their weapons. Transport Topics
FBI Eases Domestic Spying Restrictions
The Justice Department relaxed restrictions May 30 that have hampered the FBI in monitoring possible terrorist activity within the U.S., the Associated Press reported.As a possible vehicle for terrorist activity, trucking has a special interest in expanded scrutiny.
An announcement at FBI headquarters Wednesday outlined a major restructuring of the organization in order to redirect its focus from white collar and drug crimes to the fight against terrorism
Attorney General John Ashcroft told AP that FBI agents previously were not allowed to perform Internet searches or walk into public events to observe civilian activities, the story said.
Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller said the FBI now has the authority to monitor Internet sites, libraries, churches and political organizations to obtain clues about terrorist plots, the AP reported.
The FBI has been criticized recently for failing to act on a memo from the Phoenix office suggesting a national search of Middle Eastern men taking flight training in the U.S. prior to Sept. 11. Transport Topics
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