Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 Source: The Post and Courier (SC) Copyright: 2001 Evening Post Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.charleston.net/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567 Author: Steve Piacente US PORTS' SECURITY TARGETED WASHINGTON - Sen. Fritz Hollings, concerned that smugglers are enjoying a 98 percent success rate at the nation's seaports, announced legislation Tuesday that he said is urgently needed to beef up port safety and security. "If I were in the drug business down in Colombia, I would load up 10 of those containers that come into the ports of America, knowing that only one ... would be inspected," Hollings said. "Nine would go through free, and I'd have around 450,000 tons of cocaine on the market." A bill introduced by Hollings, D-S.C., and Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., would set up a national task force to coordinate security programs, require the Coast Guard to develop standards and conduct assessments and give $68 million to the Customs Service for screening equipment to combat drug trafficking. It also would give $80 million to the Transportation Department to improve port infrastructure. Hollings said the measure would provide the security needed to help seaports deal with drug smuggling, illegal aliens, trade fraud, terrorism and "potential threats to our ability to mobilize U.S. military forces." "I think that the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs agency are doing an outstanding job, but they are outgunned," he said. Hollings said the government currently does not provide security guidelines - or security funding - for the nation's 300 ports. He and Graham introduced a similar measure last year, but it never got past the Senate Commerce Committee. Hollings now chairs the panel and is expected to make sure the bill reaches the Senate floor. The proposal received a qualified endorsement in Charleston, where local officials agreed that port security needs more attention, but also worried about cookie-cutter guidelines from Washington. "Government action increases awareness and helps national security, (but) every port is different," said John Hassell, president of the Maritime Association of the Port of Charleston. Byron Miller, spokesman for the State Ports Authority, agreed. "There are vast differences between ports. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all way of addressing port security." During a committee hearing, officials representing the Coast Guard, Customs Service, Maritime Administration and the Bush administration agreed that seaport crime and security are major problems. "The sobering reality is, because we live in a country that prides itself on the openness of democracy, we are always at risk of a terrorist attack," said Adm. James Loy, commandant of the Coast Guard. Rear Adm. James Underwood, national security advisor to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, said current controls are not enough to stop someone "intent on causing severe harm (to the United States) by way of our seaports." "The risk of a weapon of mass destruction being deployed against the U.S. by such low-tech means as a shipping container delivered to a seaport presents a difficult challenge, but one the U.S. cannot afford to ignore," he said. One concern about the Hollings measure is that heightened security could slow port operations. "A disruption of the flow of cargo through our ports could have a significant negative impact on our economy and our military readiness," said Bruce Carlton, acting deputy maritime administrator. Hollings' and Graham's "Port and Maritime Security Act of 2001" grew out of a report issued last October by the Interagency Commission on Crime and Security in U.S. Seaports. The commission, appointed by President Clinton at Graham's request, said security weaknesses are jeopardizing efforts to combat drug smugglers, cargo theft, the exportation of stolen vehicles and trade fraud. - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk