02.26.06

In Preparation for Port Security Hearing, Cantwell Meets With Coast Guard, Ports of Seattle and Tacoma

At Port of Seattle, Cantwell calls for port security ideas from local technology and security expertsSenator is top Dem on Senate Coast Guard panel; full Commerce Committee hearing on port security set for Thursday

SEATTLE, WA – On Sunday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member on the Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard, joined technology and security experts at the Port of Seattle for a fact-finding meeting on port security. Following the meeting with the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, SSA Marine, and the U.S. Coast Guard, Cantwell held a press conference to discuss what must be done to enhance port security nationwide. Cantwell’s meeting was part of an effort by the Senator to bring ideas from the Northwest back to Washington, D.C. and make sure the right questions are asked when the Commerce Committee holds a hearing on port security this Thursday.

“Millions of tons of cargo pass through our state’s ports each year,” said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. “We have a responsibility to make sure these vital economic hubs stay safe and secure. I want to know what measures are being taken to make sure cargo coming to the United States is secure before it even enters U.S. waters. The U.S. has an obligation to make sure our international partners have strict security standards and a way to enforce them.”

“Local security officials are doing a great job, but we can clearly do more to help them keep our harbors and cities safe,” Cantwell added. “At this week’s hearing, I’m going to make sure Congress listens to the ideas and concerns of those working everyday to keep and our country safe and our economy strong.”

At Sunday’s press conference, Cantwell was joined by Port of Seattle Commission President Patricia Davis, Port of Tacoma Commissioner Connie Bacon, Port of Tacoma Security Director Ramon Ortiz, and Charlie Sheldon, the Port of Seattle’s Managing Director of Seaport Security. Sunday’s meeting was part of a comprehensive effort by Cantwell to enhance port security both here in the Northwest and across the country.

Earlier this week, Cantwell joined Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairwoman Olympia Snowe (R-ME) in calling on the Coast Guard to explain to Congress its recommendation on the recent deal to hand operations at six major U.S. ports over to Dubai Ports World, a business owned by the United Arab Emirates.

The Coast Guard, through the Department of Homeland Security, participated in the decision to approve the recent deal. In a letter sent Wednesday to Coast Guard Admiral Thomas Collins, Cantwell and Snowe demanded that the Coast Guard explain in detail its review of the ports deal.

[The text of Snowe and Cantwell’s letter follows below]

February 22, 2006

Admiral Thomas Collins
Commandant of the United States Coast Guard
2100 Second Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20593


Dear Admiral Collins,

We are deeply disturbed with the decision to allow the proposed acquisition of port operations by Dubai Ports World, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) government-controlled company, to go forward. This purchase raises questions concerning security at the ports of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, and New Orleans.

The Coast Guard, as the principal maritime agency in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is at the forefront of our nation’s port security. We demand to know what information was reviewed by the Coast Guard in reaching its recommendation, and the interaction it had with DHS and the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States. Most importantly, what final determination did the Coast Guard reach in preparing its recommendation to DHS officials. We insist you provide us with the Coast Guard’s analysis of any potential risks that this transaction poses to the national security of the United States.

It is extremely difficult to maintain the security of our borders and ports with the minuscule resources provided the Coast Guard to conduct its port security mission. The vulnerabilities exposed on September 11th illustrate the need for extensive review of security considerations at our ports. According to Coast Guard estimates, it has allocated a mere $250 million of the necessary $7 billion to implement port security plans across the nations 361 ports. We need your immediate attention to this critical issue for the nation.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe
Chair, Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard


U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard

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