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May 16, 2003 Hollings and McCain seek GAO probe of port security They continued, "Based on recent briefings given to our staff, we are concerned that the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have failed to ensure that all requirements of the Act are being executed effectively and in a timely manner as Congress intends and that major problems have arisen in the coordination among federal agencies on various issues and the key maritime stakeholders, both at home and abroad. We, therefore, request GAO's assistance in evaluating the implementation of the new statutory requirements to promote port security." The Senators requested that the GAO examine the Administration's methodology and approach toward the initial port vulnerability assessments and how they estimate the costs associated with fixing the deficiencies. They are also seeking the methodology for developing the Sea Marshall program, the Automated Vessel Identification System, the maritime intelligence system requirements, the transportation worker ID cards, and the effort to certify secure systems of international intermodal transportation. Hollings and McCain have also requested an examination of how the Administration will assess security efforts at foreign ports. Each of these elements are mandated in the new port security laws. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security awarded $75 million to "high threat" ports nationwide. This funding was derived from the FY 2003 supplemental appropriations, signed into law in April. An additional $35 million was set aside for radiological defense at the ports in New York/Newark and Charleston, SC. "While the funding awarded [Wednesday] is helpful, particularly to South Carolina, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the nation's port security efforts remain underfunded," said Sen. Hollings following the Department's announcement. "The threat risk and the vulnerabilities are real, and the bombing this week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, serves as yet another warning that the war on terrorism continues. We cannot rest in our homeland security efforts, and port security is chief among them." The Coast Guard has estimated that it will require over $6.6 billion over the next 10 years for private port facilities alone to meet the baseline mandates in the new federal port security laws. The Administration has awarded less than $500 million over the last 2 years, including the money awarded last night, and Hollings has contended that "they just aren't taking this issue seriously." In Senate hearings in March, April and May, Sen. Hollings repeatedly raised the issue of inadequate port security funding with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and other officials in the Administration. Hollings noted that the Administration's budget did not provide a fraction of the funding that will be required to secure the nation's ports. During its deliberations in April over additional funding for the war in Iraq and homeland security, the Senate defeated, on a nearly party-line vote of 52 to 47, an amendment by Senator Hollings to include $1 billion in this fiscal year specifically to improve port security. The vote was in direct contradiction to the Senate's unanimous agreement on February 21, 2003, to provide that identical sum for port security as part of the fiscal year 2004 budget resolution. Hollings' amendment to the supplemental, had it been approved, would have provided immediate and more adequate funding to help federal agencies, local law enforcement and port operators meet the new security mandates in the MTSA. |
