Bush V. Dems National Security Bill

NY Times: White House objecting to Democrats' effort to pass 9/11 panel bill

RAW STORY
Published: Monday January 8, 2007

Democrats seek to pass legislation encapsuling recommendations made by the vaunted 9/11 Commission, but the White House and some in the Senate are raising objections, The New York Times will report Tuesday.

"House Democrats intend to fulfill a campaign promise this week by passing broad new anti-terrorism legislation," writes Eric Lipto for the Times, "but central elements of the plan are provoking objections from the Bush administration and some Senate Democrats who are concerned about the cost and practicality of new security mandates."

The bill would make recommendations by the panel into law and include a variety of measures intended to strengthen national security by "enhancing emergency communications and curtailing global black markets for nuclear weapons technology," among other objectives, Lipto writes.

Excerpts from the registration-restricted article, now available online, follow...

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[T]he proposed legislation, which could come to a vote as early as Tuesday, goes beyond what the 9/11 Commission recommended, taking up measures previously favored by Democratic lawmakers but opposed by the Department of Homeland Security.

The bill requires that within three years all cargo on passenger jets be inspected for explosives, as checked baggage is now. The House bill also requires that within five years all ship cargo containers headed to the United States be scanned overseas for components of a nuclear bomb.

Homeland Security officials say there is no proven technology for such comprehensive cargo screening, at least at a reasonable cost or without causing bottlenecks in trade worldwide. Screening air cargo is estimated to cost $3.6 billion over the next decade, while ship inspections could cost even more. "Inspecting every container could cause ports to literally shut down," said Russ Knocke, a Homeland Security spokesman.

Many Republicans and some Senate Democratic committee chairmen said that the goal of 100 percent inspections was worthy, but that they were not convinced that mandates should be included in the bill.
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