Details of the Committee Report on the House-Passed FY 2007 DHS Appropriations Bill (Part I)

Committee Report Contains Additional Information and Recommendations

Prior to the passage of H.R. 5441 by the House, the House Appropriations Committee issued a report (H. Rept. 109-476) that contains, among other things, certain additional information and recommendations.¹

This is Part I of a multi-part series of summaries on the Committee's report and focuses on the port, container, and cargo security strategic plan and certain related funding. (See future issues of ITT for additional summaries.)

"Highlights" of the Committee's report are summarized below (partial list):

Concern about DHS' progress on U.S. port and inbound security. The Committee notes that that it is very concerned about DHS' progress towards securing U.S. ports and inbound commerce. According to the Committee, while CBP is to be commended for its efforts in establishing multiple, noteworthy security programs, such as the Container Security Initiative (CSI), Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), and the Automated Targeting System (ATS), sustained, measurable improvement of U.S. port, container, and cargo security as a whole remains unclear. To address this concern, the Committee states that it included the strategic plan provision outlined below.

$10 million in funding would be withheld from DHS until it submits a port, container, and cargo security strategic plan. In its report, the Committee states that it would withhold $10 million from DHS' Office of the Secretary and Executive Management until the Secretary of Homeland Security submits to the House Appropriations and Homeland Security Committees, a comprehensive port, container, and cargo security strategic plan.

Strategic plan should ensure ATS screening for all inbound cargo, doubling of the percentage of cargo inspected, etc. As part of this plan, the Committee's report states that the Secretary should ensure that all inbound cargo is screened through CBP's ATS and shall ensure the percentage of inbound cargo currently inspected by CBP is doubled.

FY 2007 deadline for CSI, C-TPAT, radiation screening goals. Furthermore, as part of this plan, the Committee states that the Secretary should ensure, by the FY 2007:

the CSI program maintains a one hundred percent manifest review rate;

the C-TPAT program conducts validations of all new certified partners within the first year of participation and revalidations of all certified partners not less than once every three years following initial validation; and

the percentage of inbound, containerized cargo screened for radiation as of January 1, 2006, is doubled.

Other aspects of strategic plan. The Committee also states in its report that the plan should:

address how the CSI program is coordinating its functions with the Department of Energy's Megaports program as well as how the CSI program is promoting the use of CBP-approved non-intrusive inspection equipment in all participating foreign ports.

include minimum standards, as established by CBP and DHS' Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, for securing cargo containers from their point of origin to their arrival in the U.S. and explain how these standards align with C-TPAT protocols.

(The report states that these cargo container standards must consist of general guidelines to industry for securing cargo containers including the most immediate, practicable standard and the best available, technological standard under the precepts of the Container Security Device and Advanced Container Security Device programs.)

include a detailed evaluation of cargo inspection systems utilized at high-volume foreign ports, such as the port of Hong Kong, for their applicability to CBP's cargo screening and inspection operations.

address the staffing and resource needs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for investigations of internal conspiracies and smuggling organizations, and for enforcement to prevent criminals and terrorists from penetrating and crippling critical ports.

address how the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in the maritime environment, as well as the awarding of port security grants based upon risk and need, aligns with DHS' port, container, and cargo security programs.

Committee recommends specific funding for C-TPAT validations, NTC staffing, expansion of CSI, etc. Included in the amounts the Committee recommended for CBP's port, container, and cargo security efforts is funding for:

staffing and contract support to enhance the validation capabilities of the C-TPAT program, including the costs of personnel compensation and benefits, training, validation visits, and contracts for third-party auditors.

enhanced staffing at the National Targeting Center (NTC);

enhanced CBP's radiological detection staffing; and

the CSI program to support expansion of the program to 58 foreign ports and coordination with the Department of Energy's Megaports program.

¹According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), such reports do not have statutory force and departments and agencies are not legally bound by their declarations. However, reports do explain congressional intent, and executive branch agencies take them seriously because they must justify their budget requests annually to the Appropriations Committees.

H. Rept. 109-476 available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_reports&docid=f:hr476.109.pdf.