TWIC Delays Lead to Security Gaps
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
October 2, 2007 – Today, Committee on Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) sent a letter to Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security regarding the failure to implement the mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). The Committee will also hold two hearings in October which will address this issue – a hearing on the SAFE Port Act on October 11th and a hearing specifically on TWIC on October 18th.
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October 2, 2007
Dear Secretary Chertoff:
I am writing to you today to express my concerns about the Department of Homeland Security’s failure to implement the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). TWIC was originally required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Five years and millions of tax-payer dollars later, this card has yet to be implemented.
Your Department’s failure to implement this important credential is extremely troubling. The Department has repeatedly asserted that it utilizes a risk-based, multi-layer approach to security. However, it seems to me, that you are missing a critical layer – a layer that only TWIC can provide. Every day that you wait to roll-out the TWIC program is another day that America is less secure.
As you know, the implementation of the TWIC program was identified as one of the key items on the “To Do” list that the Committee on Homeland Security provided to you last month. We strongly believe that the Department of Homeland Security owes the American taxpayer an accounting of the past five years. My colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security and I are committed to ensuring that this accounting occurs. To that end, this month, the Committee will hold two hearings to examine the TWIC program. The first, on October 11th, will focus on the implementation of the SAFE Port Act. This Act includes mandates on the TWIC program, implementation mandates which the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly failed to meet. The second hearing will focus on the TWIC reader pilot, the status of the TWIC roll-out, potential for duplication of credentials, and due process for transportation workers.
Due to the serious nature of this issue, I request that the Departmental witnesses be fully prepared to answer any and all questions regarding the TWIC program. Given the timeliness of these questions, an answer of “I do not know” or “I will need to get back to you” will not suffice. Your Department has had five years to plan. The Committee looks forward to a detailed accounting of the TWIC program to date and a detailed presentation of the Department’s future plans for the program.
Sincerely,
Bennie G. Thompson
Chairman
Committee on Homeland Security
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978.
