Senate Approves Port Security Increases

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he Senate approved Thursday, by a vote of 98-0, legislation to tighten security at U.S. ports, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The new legislation requires nearly all inbound cargo to be scanned on arrival for nuclear weapons, AP said.

Currently, only about 65% of cargo is scanned for signs of radioactivity, according to AP.

The new legislation also includes an amendment introduced Thursday by Sen. Mark Pryor (D – Ark) that would require all applicants for commercial driver’s licenses in the United States to be legal citizens with valid social security numbers, the Arkansas News Bureau reported. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Other provisions of the bill include hiring about 1,000 new security agents to screen containers at ports, $400 million a year in funding for the Port Security Grant program, and such specialty items as border air patrols in Montana and extended daily hours at a New Mexico border crossing, AP reported.