GAO to assess inbound air cargo security

GAO to assess inbound air cargo security    In the wake of the Yemeni plot to ship parcels containing makeshift bombs, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson has asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of U.S. air cargo security measures for international inbound flights.
   He was joined in the request by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, chairman of the Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee.
   The Transportation Security Administration implemented 100 percent screening for cargo on U.S. domestic and outbound passenger flights on Aug. 1, but has been challenged to achieve the same level of security for inbound flights because of differences in capabilities, jurisdiction, and standards among other countries.
   A few packages originating from Yemen, including at least one identified as part of the bomb plot, traveled for a portion of their journey on Middle Eastern passenger air carriers, before ending up in the UPS and FedEx parcel systems.