(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Leslie Miller on September 10.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When a man recently stowed away in a cargo plane from New York to Dallas by shipping himself in a wooden crate, it raised questions about transportation security nearly two years after terrorists turned jetliners into missiles.
Lawmakers said Tuesday that gaps remain, despite many improvements since the Sept. 11 attacks. They cited security loopholes at the nation’s ports and the potential threat that a missile could hit an airliner on takeoff or landing at airports.
“Transportation security is at its highest level ever, particularly aviation security,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. “However, we need to remain vigilant across all modes of transportation.”
Two months after the 2001 attacks, Congress created the Transportation Security Administration to protect aviation, shipping and transit. The agency was given dozens of deadlines, mostly dealing with air travel.
Many of the deadlines were met, including the hiring of passenger and baggage screeners, checking of all bags for explosives and requiring background checks for airport workers.
Still, Peter Guerrero, director of physical infrastructure questions for the General Accounting Office, said much more needs to be done.
Guerrero, whose agency is the investigative arm for Congress, testified before McCain’s committee that it could cost hundreds of billions of dollars to secure the country’s transportation network ? 3.9 million miles of roads, 600,000 bridges, 361 ports and more than 5,000 public-use airports.
He said more federal money is needed, and federal agencies need to coordinate their efforts better to eliminate duplication.
Guerrero, in written testimony, pointed out that only a small amount of 12.5 million tons of cargo is inspected before it is shipped by air every year.
Transportation Security Administration chief James Loy told the committee the agency is working on a more thorough cargo-screening plan. The TSA twice interviewed the 25-year-old stowaway, a New York shipping clerk, in an effort to learn how he got past security Friday in his wooden shipping box.
Another major worry is that terrorists could use shoulder-fired missiles to bring down an airliner. Though patrols of airport perimeters have increased, airport officials acknowledge planes could be vulnerable.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., wants to equip all 6,800 commercial planes in the U.S. fleet with anti-missile devices, at an estimated cost of $10 billion.
As part of a federal study ordered by Congress in April, the Homeland Security Department asked high-tech companies for proposals on developing a prototype. The department requested more information from eight of the responders and is awaiting answers.
Boxer said the administration is not acting fast enough.
“It is unbelievable to me the pace at which we’re moving,” Boxer said.
The administration has helped finance projects to make airport perimeters more secure, such as fences and access control systems, Loy said.
He also said an airline passenger prescreening program is being developed to measure the risk of every passenger who boards a flight in the United States. The program, which will match a traveler’s name, birth date, address and phone number with information from commercial and government databases, will be tested for six months before it is implemented.
Improvements in aviation security, though, may make other parts of the transportation system more tempting targets for terrorists, said Sen. John Breaux (news, bio, voting record), D-La.
Breaux and others on the committee said they worry about the vulnerability of U.S. ports. Democrats chastised the Bush administration for failing to request money for grants to improve port security, while planning to request $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan.
“More money to protect the ports in Iraq than here,” Boxer said.