Mr. President, I rise today to address the continued need to secure our nation's shipping containers.

The U.S. economy is heavily dependent on the normal flow of commerce and the security of our nation's ports. Over the past six years, commercial cargo entering America's ports has nearly doubled. About seven million shipping containers arrive in U.S. seaports each year.

The Department of Homeland Security recently proposed new regulations to improve shipping container security by requiring advance information in electronic format for cargo entering and exiting the United States.

In my view the Department needs to do more. To improve container security we must ensure that shipping container security programs are effective by having the right personnel and the right management strategies in place.

Currently the Customs Service administers two container security programs within the Department of Homeland Security: the Container Security Initiative, known as CSI, and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or C-TPAT. By 2004, the Department plans to increase the funding for CSI 14-fold and for C-TPAT by 50 percent.

A July 2003 General Accounting Office (GAO) review on container security programs raises concerns that the Customs Service has not taken the steps required to ensure the long-term success and accountability of CSI and C-TPAT. According to the GAO report, Customs has reached a critical point in the management of CSI and C-TPAT and must develop plans to address workforce needs to ensure the long-term success of these programs.

As a Senator from a state reliant on shipped products, I understand the importance of container security. My state is uniquely vulnerable to disruptions in the normal flow of commerce. In fact, 98 percent of the goods imported into Hawaii are transported by sea.

Honolulu Harbor receives more than one million tons of food and farm products and over two million tons of manufactured goods per year. In 2002, Honolulu received 1,300 foreign ships and about 300,000 containers. Over eight million tons of these goods arrive at Honolulu Harbor, which receives one-half of all cargo brought into the state.

This is why I support GAO's recommendation that Customs develops strategic plans that clearly identify the objectives the programs are intended to achieve and to enhance performance measures.

I urge the Department of Homeland Security to implement GAO's recommendation by developing workforce plans and strategies to strengthen container security and to attract, train, and retain workers within CSI and C-TPAT. This is no small challenge. By the end of 2004, Customs expects to hire 120 staff for CSI and increase staffing levels in C-TPAT by 15-fold. Moreover, it is estimated that 46 percent of the Customs workforce will be eligible to retire by 2008.

Now more than ever, agencies must have the plans and strategies in place to recruit personnel with the skills necessary to protect our country. As the United States Commission on National Security/21st Century concluded in 2001, "...the maintenance of American power in the world depends upon the quality of U.S. government personnel, civil and military, at all levels...The U.S. faces a broader range of national security challenges today, requiring policy analysts and intelligence personnel with expertise in more countries, regions, and issues."

To meet these national security challenges, workforce and strategic planning for CSI and C-TPAT deserve the full attention of the Department of Homeland Security. Such attention is critical for a state like Hawaii that is uniquely dependent on shipping of goods. The potential consequences of a terrorist incident using a shipping container are, in the words of Customs Service Commissioner Bonner, "...profound...no ships would be allowed to unload at U.S. ports after such an event."

I look forward to working with the Department to ensure that the foundation is in place for CSI and C-TPAT to secure shipping containers over the long-term.