March 18, 2003   GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS TO EXAMINE CARGO CONTAINER SECURITY   WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Joe Lieberman (D-CT) will hold a hearing on Thursday, March 20, 2003, to examine the federal government’s efforts to ensure that the millions of cargo containers entering U.S. ports are not used as weapons of terrorism. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection inspects only about 4 percent of the 21,000 containers that arrive daily at U.S. ports from foreign nations. To bolster that effort, the Department of Homeland Security has implemented two additional programs to target and screen high risk shipments. The committee will examine the success of these programs and the challenges that remain. “Whether the threat is nuclear, chemical or biological – whether it comes from a terrorist network such as al Qaeda or a terrorist state such as Iraq, cargo containers offer a frighteningly simple and anonymous way to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into the United States,” Collins said. WHAT: “Cargo Containers: The Next Terrorist Target?” WHEN: 9:30 a.m., Thursday, March 20, 2003 WHERE: Room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building WITNESSES: Panel 1 Asa Hutchinson, Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security: Panel 2 Peter Hall, U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont; Dr. Stephen Flynn, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Captain Jeffery Monroe, Director, Department of Transportation and Ports, Portland, Maine; Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution.   ###   Printable Version   « previous Press Release next Press Release »   1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 March 2003 Press Releases   March 27 - Collins Calls on Senate Conferees to Reject Cuts in Federal Benefits   March 20 - Sens. Collins, Lieberman Seek to Improve Grant Process for First Responders   March 18 current Press Release   March 14 - Collins Applauds Restoration of Federal Funding for Maine Mapping Project   March 14 - Collins, Lieberman Urge Homeland Security Secretary to Establish Nationwide Procurement Policy   March 13 - Governmental Affairs Committee to Hold Hearing on Cargo Container Security   March 12 - Collins, Lieberman Urge Support for Bill to Lower Postal Service Costs   March 12 - Collins, Lieberman Call for Additional Coast Guard Funding   March 11 - Inspectors General Find Federal Agencies Lax in Safeguarding Social Security Numbers   March 10 - Senator Collins Urges Fire Departments To Apply Now For FEMA Assistance
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 340 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510