Democrats win on 100% cargo scan provision
Congressional conferees drafting a final version of a bill to adopt the homeland security recommendations of the Sept. 11 Commission have agreed to include a House provision calling for mandatory scanning of 100 percent of cargo containers before they leave foreign ports.
House and Senate Democrats succeeded in adding the provision allowing a five-year window for scanning technology to be deployed overseas and giving the Department of Homeland Security authority to make exceptions. The measure was passed by the House in January, but was not included in the Senate version of the bill.
If passed by Congress, the legislation would supercede DHS's testing on the feasibility of conducting integrated radiation and image scans of all containers at foreign ports.
Industry groups have fought hard against scan-all legislation on the grounds that inadequate technology would lead to huge delays in shipments and raise costs for all imports.
Negotiators also accepted House language that requires the inspection of all cargo on passenger planes within three years, according to the Associated Press.
Democrats win on 100% cargo scan provision
