Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 710, the Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to…
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 710, the Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend from Georgia for his concern and for his commitment and thank him for his service on the Homeland Security Committee. I also want to acknowledge our chairman and our ranking member of the full committee and Mrs. Miller who now serves as the chairwoman of the Border and Maritime Security, on which I served as the ranking member in the last Congress.
The bill passed the House unanimously in the 113th Congress, and I am pleased it is being considered by the House again today. Mr. Speaker, might I add my appreciation to the House leadership, in particular the Speaker; majority leader; and, of course, our leader and minority whip.
The SAFE Port Act of 2006 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a biometric credential program, now known as the TWIC program, to ensure that individuals with unescorted access to secure areas of ports and vessels were vetted and carrying proper credentials.
Mr. Speaker, I had a TWIC card. I remember being there as the TWIC card was being implemented and watching various workers come to a central point and sign up for the TWIC card. We had great hope and inspiration on that TWIC card.
Establishment of this program was viewed as critical to ensuring protection of our ports from a so-called insider security threat; however, in the years since it was established, the Department of Homeland Security struggled to realize the security benefits that Congress envisioned.
I know that the former director of the Transportation Security Administration, Mr. Pistole, was very concerned. It should be noted their efforts are an important part of their work, along with others.
In fact, the Government Accountability Office has examined the program and identified serious shortcomings that may undermine the program's intended purpose and make it difficult to justify the program's costs and particularly the costs to workers. I saw that firsthand. I also saw the challenges of workers who had many unique scheduling for their work hours to be able to get a TWIC card.
In response, I introduced H.R. 710 and its predecessor last Congress with the support of Subcommittee Chairman Miller as an original cosponsor to ensure that Congress receives an independent, scientific assessment of the program and to require the Secretary to issue a corrective action plan in response to the assessment.
Ranking Member Thompson is also a cosponsor, but this is bipartisan legislation. The required assessment should give Congress the information it needs to determine how best to proceed with the TWIC program.
The bill has been refined over time to ensure that the long overdue rulemaking for TWIC card readers would not be affected by the bill and to refine the scope of the assessment we are seeking.
There is great interest in that final rule; particularly, there is interest in how many ports and vessels will be required to install readers for biometric cards. If the final rule requires only a limited number of vessels and ports to have biometric readers, as has been previously proposed by the Department, we will still--we will still-- certainly need to have a discussion about what this means for the approximately 2 million truckers, longshoremen, and port workers who today carry TWICs as part of their jobs.
For those of us who live around and near our ports, such as the Houston port, we know that this will have a great impact.
In closing, I again thank my friend for his concern and presence here on the floor today and in support of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to make the point that this bill was generated by the GAO report which found a number of concerns, and I just want to mention one or two. The reliability of data collection retention was done in an incomplete and inconsistent manner, this report wanted to inform us of--this was a GAO TWIC report--and it commented on some of the illnesses or ailments of this process.
It reported that transaction data did not match underlying documentation, installed TWIC readers and access control systems could not collect required data on TWIC reader use, and TSA and the independent test agent did not employ effective compensating data collection measures.
Also, pilot participants did not document instances of denied access. Finally, TSA and the independent test agent did not collect complete data on malfunctioning TWIC cards.
This legislation, the underlying legislation, H.R. 710, is to be a helper. It is to help correct our path to make the document, the TWIC card that all of us are quite familiar with, the best effective data- collecting document and system that it can possibly be.
I am very grateful that, again, my colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee have supported this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to join us in making what is good much better and best to be able to secure the Nation and provide for the homeland.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 710, the ``Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act.''
This bill passed the House unanimously in the 113th Congress and I am pleased it is being considered by the House again today.
The SAFE Port Act of 2006 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a biometric credential program, now known as the TWIC program, to ensure that individuals with unescorted access to secure areas of
ports and vessels were vetted and carrying proper credentials.
Establishment of this program was viewed as critical to ensuring the protection of our ports from a so-called ``insider security threat.''
However, in the years since it was established, the Department of Homeland Security struggled to realize the security benefits that Congress envisioned.
In fact, the Government Accountability Office has examined the program and identified serious shortcomings that may undermine the program's intended purpose and make it difficult to justify program costs, and particularly the costs to workers.
In response, I introduced H.R. 710 and its predecessor last Congress, with the support of Subcommittee Chairman Miller as an original cosponsor, to ensure that Congress receives an independent scientific assessment of the program and to require the Secretary to issue a corrective action plan in response to the assessment.
The required assessment should give Congress the information it needs to determine how best to proceed with the TWIC program.
The bill has been refined over time to ensure that the long-overdue rulemaking for TWIC card readers would not be affected by the bill and to refine the scope of the assessment we are seeking.
There is great interest in that final rule, particularly there is interest in how many ports and vessels will be required to install readers for biometric cards.
If the final rule requires only a limited number of vessels and ports to have biometric readers, as has been previously proposed by the Department, we will certainly need to have a discussion about what this means for the approximately 2 million truckers, longshoremen and port workers who today carry TWICs as part of their jobs.
In closing, I want to express my appreciation to Chairman Miller for the bipartisan nature of the work on this bill and express my appreciation to her staff for their cooperation.
I am proud to represent a portion of the Port of Houston and know firsthand the importance of this issue to the maritime workers, truckers, and others who access our Nation's ports every day. It is imperative that we get this right on their behalf.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 710, a bipartisan bill that is essential to ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security has an effective program in place to help secure our ports.
Identical legislation that I authored was approved unanimously last Congress. Today, with this legislation, we have the opportunity to send another strong message to the Department.
Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, the Ranking Member of the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee, and the author of the legislation, I rise in strong and enthusiastic support of H.R. 710, the ``Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act.''
H.R. 710 is identical in all substantive respects to H.R. 3202, which passed the House during the 113th Congress on July 28, 2014.
The Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to Congress and the Comptroller General (GAO) a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the transportation security card program at enhancing security or reducing security risks for maritime facilities and vessels.
I reintroduced H.R. 710, in response to this GAO TWIC Report on the Weaknesses in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Reader Pilot program that impacted the accuracy, and reliability of the system.
The GAO report stated that data collection and retention was done in an incomplete and inconsistent manner during the pilot, further undermining the completeness, accuracy, and reliability of the data collected at pilot sites.
Problems identified included by the GAO report included:
1. Installed TWIC readers and access control systems could not collect required data on TWIC reader use, and TSA and the independent test agent did not employ effective compensating data collection measures.
2. Reported transaction data did not match underlying documentation.
3. Pilot documentation did not contain complete TWIC reader and access control system characteristics.
4. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the independent test agent did not record clear baseline data for comparing operational performance at access points with TWIC readers.
5. TSA and the independent test agent did not collect complete data on malfunctioning TWIC cards.
6. Pilot participants did not document instances of denied access.
7. TSA and the independent test agent did not collect consistent data on the operational impact of using TWIC cards with readers.
8. Pilot site reports did not contain complete information about installed TWIC readers' and access control systems' design.
H.R. 710 addresses the problems outlined in the GAO report by directing the Secretary to issue a corrective action plan based on the assessment that responds to the findings of a cost-benefit analysis of the program and enhances security or reduces security risk for such facilities and vessels.
Following the assessment the Comptroller General, within 120 days must review the extent to which the submissions implement certain recommendations issued by the Comptroller General, and inform Congress as to the responsiveness of the submission.
The bill also prohibits the Secretary from issuing a final rule requiring the use of transportation security card readers until the Comptroller General informs Congress that the submission is substantially responsive to the GAO recommendations, and the Secretary issues an updated list of transportation security card readers that are compatible with active transportation security cards.
Mr. Speaker, my congressional district is located in Houston, Texas, which is home to the Port of Houston, one of the world's busiest ports, and one of its most critical infrastructure projects.
According to the Department of Commerce in 2012, Texas exports totaled $265 billion.
The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located just a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2012, ship channel-related businesses contribute 1,026,820 jobs and generate more than $178.5 billion in statewide economic impact.
For the past 11 consecutive years, Texas has outpaced the rest of the nation's ports in exports and ranked: 1. 1st in foreign tonnage; 2. 2nd in total tonnage; and 3. 7th in container ports by total TEUs in 2012.
The Port of Houston is the largest Texas port with 46% of market share by tonnage and the largest Texas container port with 96% market share in containers by total TEUs in 2012.
It is the largest Gulf Coast container port, handling 67% of Gulf Coast container traffic in 2012 and ranked 2nd in terms of cargo value (based on CBP Customs port definitions).
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), reports that the Port of Houston, its waterways, and vessels are part of an economic engine handling more than $700 billion in merchandise annually.
The Port of Houston houses approximately 100 steamship lines offering services that link Houston with 1,053 ports in 203 countries.
The Port of Houston hosts a $15 billion petrochemical complex, the largest in the nation and second largest worldwide.
The Port of Houston petrochemical complex supplies over 40 percent of the nation's base petrochemical manufacturing capacity.
What happens at the Port of Houston affects the entire nation.
When Congress enacted the SAFE Ports Act in 2006, we directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a biometric credential program to ensure that individuals with unescorted access to sensitive areas in ports and vessels were vetted and known.
However, under the Homeland Security Committee's oversight responsibilities we learned that, as implemented by TSA and the Coast Guard, there are weaknesses in the program.
For this reason, I introduced H.R. 710, with the support of Mr. Thompson, the Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member, and Mrs. Miller, Chair of the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee as original cosponsors, to ensure that Congress receives an independent scientific assessment of the program and to require the Secretary to issue a corrective action plan in response to the assessment.
The required assessment should give Congress the information it needs to determine how best to proceed with the program.
I want to point out that in the last Congress when this bill was marked up in Committee, language was integrated to ensure that clarified that pending rulemaking would not be impacted by the bill and refined the scope of the assessment we are seeking.
H.R. 710 retains this language.
The Department has said that the final rule for biometric readers will be published in January 2015.
There is great interest in the Department's final rule for biometric readers, particularly as it relates to the number of ports and vessels that will be required to install readers for biometric cards.
If the final rule requires only a limited number of vessels and ports to have biometric readers, as has been previously proposed by the Department, we will certainly need to have a discussion about what this means for the approximately 2 million truckers, longshoremen and port workers who today are required to carry biometric cards to do their jobs.
I want to express my appreciation to Chairman Miller for the bipartisan nature of the
work on this and all the bills that originate in her Subcommittee and thank her and the Committee staff for their cooperation and assistance in shepherding this vital legislation to the floor.
I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strongly support this bipartisan bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
