King urges comments on security legislation

King urges comments on security legislation The federal government needs to “provide as much security as we can and at the same time not impede commerce,' U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told representatives of the New York-New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders & Brokers Association Wednesday night.
   King, who received the group’s person of the year award at the its annual dinner, urged members to express concerns they might have about proposals such as Customs and Border Protection’s new “10+2” proposal to add new data elements to the 24-hour advance notification rule.
   “I think I can assure you that the department will pay attention to the comments and work with you on it,” said King, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.
   He noted that he opposed the plan to scan 100 percent of all freight containers because he thought it was impractical, but that Congress passed such a law.
   However, he said “I think there is enough language that gives the department and secretary enough discretion not to enforce it arbitrarily and to grant waivers where needed.
   “None of us have all the answers on how we combat Islamic terrorism, how we provide security to American people, and at the same time, how do we ensure that commerce goes ahead, hopefully as well as before and as expeditiously,” he added. “There are going to be inconveniences, but we don’t want to give our enemies a victory by impeding commerce that costs American jobs and hurts American business.” ' Chris Dupin