New Security Efforts Lagging at Some Ports

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-secure30jun30.story

New Security Efforts Lagging at Some Ports
Most U.S. sites comply, but inadequate federal aid is slowing action at others, experts say.


T
By Kathleen Hennessey, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — While the vast majority of U.S. port facilities are set to meet a Thursday deadline for new security standards, experts said Tuesday that inadequate government funding had slowed efforts to secure some of the nation's harbors.

The increased security measures — which apply to U.S. ports and to U.S.-bound vessels from overseas — were approved after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. <snip>

However, now that plans have been drawn up, even larger ports are struggling to put the measures in place, said Jim White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. White said "fierce" competition in his region had kept the Port of Baltimore from investing in new technologies.

"There's no way ports on the East Coast can absorb these costs," he said.<snip>

Members of Congress have proposed assessing fees on cargo moving through U.S. ports to help pay for the costs.

However, at a discussion Tuesday on port security, Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security, said new fees were "not on the table right now."<snip>