(The following appeared on the Traffic World website on September 9.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bush administration has made little progress implementing congressionally mandated homeland security law, including several programs involving freight security, according to a report prepared by House Democrats.
The report, which comes a little more then a year after the President signed into law legislation known as the 9/11 Recommendations Act, which included mandates for air and sea cargo container screening, as well as truck and rail security measures.
“The administration has failed to act in so many ways,” said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, which prepared the report in conjunction with the majority staff of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The report casts doubt on the ability of the Transportation Security Administration meeting a February 2009 deadline to have 50 percent of all air cargo destined for passenger aircraft screened and a 2012 deadline requiring 100 percent scanning of maritime cargo.
The report also points to missed deadlines for other mandates such as a risk assessment of the railroad industry and border security improvements.
“Democratic members of the Committees are alarmed the Bush administration has not made more progress implementing these key provisions,” according to the report, which was released on Tuesday. “This report is intended as a wake-up call to the Bush administration.”