DHS to begin name checks on port workers

DHS to begin name checks on port workers    Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that DHS would begin making name-based background checks on port workers as an initial effort to speed the Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program.
   The named-based background checks on some 400,000 port workers will determine if there are any matches against terror watch lists and other immigration-based databases. The preliminary name checks are expected to be completed by the end of July.
   The name checks will be required for longshoremen and employees of maritime facility owners and operators. The initial name check will not include full criminal record checks, which will be part of the TWIC program.
      Eventually, an estimated 750,000 port workers in various fields will be required to have background checks, using the more comprehensive, biometric based TWIC program. DHS has come under criticism for not implementing the full TWIC program, which has been more complicated and costly to develop than originally anticipated. There has also been opposition from labor interests concerning the scope of background checks.
   'It is fundamental that individuals who pose a security threat do not gain access to our nation's ports,' Chertoff said in announcing the program. 'The name-based checks will provide an immediate security boost while we simultaneously complete work to implement a secure national transportation worker credential.'