Date: 2006-05-04
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Madam Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Madam Chairman. this day is the reason that I decided to come back to the Congress. An effort to work together on a bipartisan basis to solve one of the great challenges affecting America. that is what this place is all about. There are a lot of cypics and skeptics out there who say that the Congress of the United States is incapable of doing the work that it should do. This day is a refutation of that suggestion. Today is an indication that we can work together. And I want to thank Chairman KING for the work that le has done and the broad flexibility that he .granted to our subcommittee to put this bill together. I want to thank my ranking member. LORETTA SANCHEZ. for the work she has done. the ranking member on the full committee. Mr. THOMPSON. and. of course. JANE HARMAN. my chief coauthor on this bill. This is the best of bills: legislation written to make a law. not to make a political statement. Yes. there are political statements that will be made about this bill. but the fact of the matter is we are moving forward in an effective way to solve a challenge that is out there that the American people recognize and that we recognize. In response to 9/11. the natural response was for us to look at where we were attacked and to focus most of our attention and energy in that direction. That is why we have had. if you will. a heavy response in the area of aviation safety. But that does not mean we can ignore the other areas. -As I said on the floor yesterday. the greatness of our ports as an integral part of our international trade. the fact that we are leaders in the world in international trade. the fact that we benefit from it more than anybody else. but we do so because it is so different than it was 30. 40. 50 years ago. The instantaneous communication. The ability to deliver products within a short period of time. The fact that inventory is carried on rail. on trucks. in ships. rather than sitting static in a warehouse somewhere. The world has changed and we have been the leaders in changing the world. and we should be pleased and proud of the tremendous contribution that our ports make to our economy and to our everyday living. But the very things that make that possible make us vulnerable to those who would destroy everything we stand for. The terrorists do not want to see international trade. The .terrorists do not want to see an exchange of ideas. -The terrorists do not want to see cultures mixing together. The terrorists do not want to see America shown at its best. And that is what we do. as we Americans live every single day with the benefits of the trade. It is not the totality of what we do. but it is an essential part of what we do. And this bill responds to the attack that those would have on us through this very much shining star in our constellation of America. So I thank the Members for work on this. I would say we are going to have a debate about 100 percent inspection. and I would say we all would hope for that day. But I would just direct peoples attention to the National Journal of this last Friday on the inside page where they have something called the "Reality Check" and they refer to this effort to have 100 percent container inspection. They say. and this is the National Journal. that "it is a nice idea but not very feasible with current technology. Eleven million containers are shipped to U.S. ports eadh year. Of those. U.S. Customs and border protection personnel physically screen only about 6 percent. 660.000. It is a noble impulse. but as a practical matter. it cant be accomplished right now. said Jack Riley. homeland security expert with RAND." The key to being able to carry this out in the future is better equipment that stands faster. and that requirement. that impulse. is in this bill as a result of an amendment adopted that was presented by the gentlewoman from Florida. We are attempting to make us safer. Let us rejoice in this day and let us support this bill.