| Home | Information Sharing & Analysis | Prevention & Protection | Preparedness & Response | Research | Commerce & Trade | Travel Security | Immigration |
The threat level in the airline sector is High or Orange. Read more.
Release Date: 03/23/04 00:00:00
Washington, D.C.
American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Spring Conference
March 23, 2004
(Remarks as Prepared)
Thank you, President Nagle and thank you, Director Leone, for your invitation to speak today. It is a pleasure to speak with a group and an industry that means so much to homeland security. You're a testament to the importance of uniting behind a common goal -- in this case, the security, safety and efficiency of this Hemisphere's ports in this new era in which we live.
The AAPA was born in another time of challenge -- the days preceding World War I. It was a time when U-Boat warfare terrorized the high seas, killing thousands of innocent people on merchant and commercial vessels and placing trade and commerce in a global chokehold.
The timing could not have been better for a new group dedicated to the "exchange of ideas and information" and "the development of uniform standards" that could advance the interests of free ports and free trade.
Ninety years and 400 members later, your fellowship has helped keep America's ports safe, prosperous and secure. And secure ports and people mean a secure and prosperous economy. Each is an integral part of homeland security.
Protecting Americans from harm is essential, but not sufficient. We must also preserve our freedoms from the terrorists who seek to destroy them.
It is imperative we come together as a nation and a world to squarely face this very real threat -- and to defeat it. After all, it is directed at the entire free world.
On September 11, 2001, men and women from more than 80 nations were murdered. But we do not have to look solely to 9-11 -- we can look to 3-11 and Madrid. Or 5-16 and Casablanca. Or 8-5 and Jakarta. Or 10-12 and Bali.
Your members have a golden opportunity to help educate the world about this threat, to show people through your actions that they are not powerless; rather, that we are all empowered to do something about it.
What we can do best is work together. In today's post-9-11 world, homeland security is about the integration of a nation -- diverse individuals and institutions united behind a single cause, pledged to freedom's advance and protection. The terrorists are determined and coordinated. Ladies and gentlemen, we must be more so.
After September 11th, we realized we needed a new way to win this war against a new kind of enemy, and we needed it fast.
And so President Bush exercised extraordinary leadership when he, along with Congress, moved at lightning speed (by Washington standards) to create the Department of Homeland Security.
This was perhaps the biggest "change management" challenge of all time, uniting 22 agencies and 180,000 employees under one chain of command so we could pool our resources and pull our oars in the same direction -- one team, one mission, one fight.
As we stood up the Department, we continued to extend new protective measures -- starting at our borders, railways, airports and seaports. We took immediate steps to improve aviation security from the curb to the cockpit. We hired more than 40,000 highly trained screeners, recruited thousands of federal air marshals, armed pilots, secured cockpit doors and deployed state-of-the-art technology to help screen every person and piece of luggage.
On the railways, DHS now requires advance electronic information of commercial cargo, as we do for all modes of transport, and we screen high-risk rail containers through our National Targeting Center.
And yesterday we announced new rapid deployment Mass Transit K-9 mobile response teams, to protect passenger trains from serious threats and acts.
At our borders, we simplified and consolidated the inspection process, with Customs and Border Protection officers presenting "one face" at the border. The change has improved morale and reduced delays.
We also hired hundreds of new inspectors at our borders and ports, and gave them new tools so they could do their jobs more efficiently and safely. In addition to the gamma-ray inspection machines that can scan an entire sea container within 2 to 3 minutes, and nearly 10,000 hand-held PRDs, or Personal Radiation Detectors, we are now deploying sophisticated radiation portal monitors to all major seaports.
To ensure that the flow of commerce is not impeded by these new measures, more than 5,000 companies have partnered with us under our Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. We work with them to help them reach a higher degree of security across their entire supply chain.
Those that succeed qualify for time- and money-saving incentives such as "FAST" lane access and reduced inspections. Traffic World magazine reports that C-TPAT has "drawn some of the strongest praise business has ever heaped on a government program." And the budget the President signed last year is expected to double it.
We've allocated or awarded more than $8 billion in grants to states and localities for anti-terrorism planning, training, exercises and equipment. Whether it's new respirators in New Hampshire, mobile hospitals in West Virginia or underwater coastline video cameras in Michigan, these grants are making a life-saving difference right now.
Finally, after languishing for decades, a true biometrics-based entry-exit program has become a reality. US-VISIT was launched on January 5th, and since then more than 200 criminal or immigration-law violators have been nabbed. In the coming year we'll extend US-VISIT beyond airports and seaports to our busiest land ports of entry.
These measures have made us safer and more secure. The test we now face is to develop a fully integrated border and port security system -- a true partnership between federal, state, local and private sector entities -- that strengthens the global economy, but prevents terrorists from taking advantage of its technology and speed.
It's an enormous challenge. As you well know, each year about nine million containers enter our 361 seaports, representing more than 95 percent of overseas trade. More than eight thousand foreign-flag vessels make 50,000 port calls annually. And nearly 200 million passengers on cruise ships and ferries travel in and out of these ports. To this picture add the critical infrastructure that surrounds our ports -- plants, refineries, warehouses -- and, of course, port communities themselves.
Our intermodal seaports are the linchpin of our container-based economy. Rail, truck and ship traffic is highly integrated. A terrorist has plenty of options to move and hide.
And the global economy gives him the opportunity. Not long after I became the President's Homeland Security Adviser I boarded a ship in New Orleans Harbor. The vessel was registered in Singapore; the crew was from India; the cargo was American grain, on its way to Japan!
Under the leadership of the Coast Guard Captains of the Port, our port communities are coming together to integrate security plans and implement coordinated security measures -- to improve security while facilitating the flow of commerce.
These measures are part of the comprehensive plan laid out in the Maritime Transportation Security Act rules. The U.S. Coast Guard, through a thoughtful and well-coordinated process, developed these rules with the ports and all stakeholders and partners. While we had authority from Congress to implement these regulations immediately, we decided that input from the industry was critical to its success.
AAPA was one of the most active members in this process, which allowed ports themselves to help shape the new rules that would impact them -- adding a healthy dose of common sense in the bargain.
As it was intended, the MTSA provides uniform and objective standards of security, but gives ports maximum flexibility to choose protective measures that meet their specific needs. These measures are "performance-based," not "prescriptive" -- anything but "one-size-fits-all."
I want to offer my sincere thanks to the port facilities that have acted so swiftly to complete their plans. The response has been gratifying; more than 92 percent were turned in. We also received more than 99 percent of vessel security plans, currently under review by the Coast Guard.
I know some of you have concerns about the process; will it be fair and based on your everyday reality?
Well, let me tell you that the Coast Guard has appointed an experienced Flag-Officer as Director of Port Security. Rear Admiral Larry Hereth has worked at the ports of New York, New Orleans, Seattle, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. He knows what works and what doesn't. And he has nearly 700 people working with him and our ports in a cooperative, collaborative process. They have the right experience and technical expertise to help you achieve the high MTSA standards. As you know, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Thomas Collins, is also the chief U.S. delegate to the International Maritime Organization. We are working with the IMO to help foreign ports achieve a similar standard of security.
After July 1st, we will have authority to board vessels, provide armed escorts and take other steps to ensure cooperation. Terrorism is a global menace, and we must fix any weak link that can be exploited.
Of course, the MTSA is just one tool in our worldwide layers of defense. Another is our highly successful Container Security Initiative. We plan to expand CSI to up to 10 additional high-volume ports this budget year. In this hemisphere, current CSI ports are Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax, with U.S. CBP officers stationed there to screen and risk-label cargo bound for the United States. Future CSI port countries include Sri Lanka, Spain, Malaysia and several other vital but potentially vulnerable regions.
We look forward as well to negotiating with Central and South American ports to bring them on board. We will make the case that by securing American-bound cargo, both the ports themselves and the entire region will be made safer.
All of these efforts will help us achieve "Maritime Domain Awareness" -- knowledge of the area, of conditions and of our capabilities. The more we work to achieve MDA, the more terrorists we stop in their tracks -- and the more we deter from attempting to penetrate our ports.
Our efforts to achieve MDA began almost immediately after 9-11. As I am talking about Coast Guard activities, let me take a moment to highlight the true transformation of this dedicated force.
After September 11th, we refocused its mission to make homeland security its top priority, and gave it its largest budget since World War II. We mobilized an additional 4,000 Coast Guard reservists, and created 13 rapid response Maritime Safety and Security Teams, deployed at ports on both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.
Under the leadership of Admiral Loy and Admiral Collins, this was accomplished without neglecting the Coast Guard's core duties: marine safety, search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, environmental protection -- and, for some, deployment overseas in the war on terrorism. The Service truly deserves the thanks of all Americans.
The new MTSA security measures represent a higher standard of security than we are used to. They will not be cost-free. But our partnership is a two-way street.
For our part, the Department of Homeland Security will work with businesses to help develop and prototype solutions, such as tamper-evident container seals. And we will work with individual ports to defray costs. To date, we've allocated more than $500 million in port security grants.
For many, the funding has made a real difference. Recently, the President and I visited the Port of Charleston, the fourth-busiest container port in the nation. The port has received nearly $8 million, enabling it to purchase video surveillance and a central monitoring system; enhanced lighting; perimeter fencing; and a new high-tech patrol boat. That's a significant upgrade any way you look at it.
We will continue to look for ways to improve the way we do business together. We are working to reform the grant formula so that port communities and other areas with smaller populations but great amounts of critical infrastructure are not shortchanged.
And we intend to streamline the grant process in FY 2005 by creating a one-stop-shop for all preparedness and security grants. This will make it easier for you to access the dollars that remain in Washington. I want to thank AAPA for your support and I look forward to working with you on this important issue.
I believe shippers and customers are looking for the increased reliability that comes with enhanced security. We aren't the only ones making the business case for homeland security! One ocean carrier, K Line, recently reported a five-fold increase in productivity, which they directly attributed to CBP's 24-Hour Rule [for advance reporting of container traffic.] They said the rule has had a positive effect in all sectors and trade-lanes.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we've turned a corner. We've become more confident and more aware. As you know, homeland security is a national strategy, not a federal one; a worldwide effort, not just an American one.
It's about the integration of a nation and a world -- driven by a philosophy of shared responsibility, shared leadership, and shared accountability -- in essence, a renewed commitment to the federalism upon which our nation was founded.
I'd like to share one last bit of history with you. This is an auspicious day. It was on March 23rd, 1775, that Patrick Henry gave his famous speech at St. John's Church in Richmond.
Now, every school kid knows the famous words, "Give me liberty or give me death." But a few other things Patrick Henry said are well worth remembering.
To those who doubted the threat facing America, Henry said, "Gentlemen may cry 'peace, peace' -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!" With those words he steeled the resolve of his countrymen at a critical time in our nation's history. He convinced them that they really did face a choice between liberty and death, and that they must choose wisely -- and quickly.
But his was not a message of despair. On the contrary. "The battle," he added, "is not to the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."
I want to thank AAPA and its member ports for being "vigilant, active and brave" in response to the new era in which we live. I want to thank you for setting the bar higher for yourself and for your tenants and customers. I believe you will be greatly rewarded for making America safer, more secure, and, above all, more free.
Thank you.
###
This page was last reviewed/modified on 03/23/04 00:00:00.