Bush Signs Homeland Security Bill

By David McGlinchey
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday signed a $30 billion appropriations bill for the Homeland Security Department and said the spending will spur “unprecedented measures to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce our vulnerability and provide for any emergency” (see GSN, Sept. 25).

The president has come under recent fire, however, after asking for $87 billion to pay for fiscal 2004 operations and rebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Democrats have called for more spending on homeland security efforts.  In a September editorial, the Los Angeles Times pointed out that the fiscal 2004 budget for the Homeland Security Department and the State Department, combined, will be $68.7 billion.

Yesterday’s homeland security bill allocates about $4 billion to local first responders and $41 million to hire up to 570 additional border patrol officers.  The bill provides $62 million for the Container Security Initiative, which stations U.S. customs officials abroad to screen shipments before they reach the United States (see GSN, Aug. 6).  The bill also funds a Secret Service initiative to improve mail screening procedures at the White House.

In a speech at the Homeland Security Department in Washington yesterday, Bush made note of the $918 million that will be spent to develop new security technologies.  Included in that funding is $88 million to build the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, which will serve as a hub for Washington’s biological defense efforts.

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U.S. Justice Department Announces New Hazardous Materials Security Initiative

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday announced a new initiative designed to improve the security of hazardous material shipments by countering illegal shipments (see GSN, Aug. 22).

According to Ashcroft, more than 1.5 billion tons of hazardous materials are shipped each year, often on “complex shipment routes” which provide opportunities for potential terrorists.  A Justice investigation has found the potential for “significant and repeated illegal transport” of hazardous materials by air, sea, road and rail, Ashcroft said.

“Over the past two years terrorists have forced us to alter our assumptions about their targets and their tactics.  It is not difficult to postulate a terrorist attack that involves hazardous materials,” Ashcroft said.  “Thousands of deaths and injuries and severe property damage could result from an incident involving illegal transportation of hazardous materials,” he said.

Under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Initiative, Justice will use existing tools in environmental and safety laws to counter potential security threats arising from illegal hazardous material shipments, Ashcroft said.  The department has established a group of prosecutors from the Environment and Natural Resources Division who will work with U.S. attorneys and the Transportation Department to train enforcement and regulatory personnel to investigate and prosecute violators of hazardous material shipment requirements, he said.

“Compliance with and enforcement of these laws makes a real difference in our level of national preparedness,” Ashcroft said.  “All those who violate these laws are on notice.  We will prosecute those who knowingly break the law and endanger our land and our lives,” he said.

The new initiative is the latest in a series of measures implemented over the last year to help improve the security of hazardous material shipments.  In August, the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed a safety permit program for carriers of certain types of hazardous materials, including radioactive materials.  In May, the department required that drivers of hazardous material shipments would have to pass a federal background check (see GSN, May 6).  The department also required in March that hazardous material shipment carriers train their employees to respond to terrorist threats (see GSN, March 26).

Ashcroft also announced yesterday the first action on the new initiative — the guilty plea entered yesterday by Emory Worldwide Airlines to 12 felony violations of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act.  The company had been charged with illegally transporting hazardous materials via aircraft, Ashcroft said, adding that the charges were unrelated to terrorist activity.  Under its guilty plea, Emory Worldwide Airlines will pay a $6 million fine and will develop a compliance plan to prevent future violations, he said.

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