Deadlines Urged for Terror Fixes

[papau]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6377-2004Aug16.html

Deadlines Urged for Terror Fixes
9/11 Panel Wants Homeland Security Department Accountable

By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 17, 2004; Page A13

Members of the Sept. 11 commission urged Congress yesterday to impose strict deadlines on the Department of Homeland Security to close loopholes in the nation's transportation system, even if it means going up against powerful interest groups and spending billions of dollars.

The chairman and vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which issued recommendations last month, said the administration has not developed strategic plans to protect the nation's rail system and ports and to correct technical communication problems among police and firefighters. The leaders of the commission also said aviation security, which has received the most government attention and money, has focused too much on "fighting the last war" instead of looking to prevent new threats.

The commission told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that it will cost at least $1 billion annually for the next five years in order to close remaining gaps in airline security.

"We are mindful that is a substantial investment," said the Sept. 11 panel's chairman, Thomas H. Kean (R). "But we have seen the devastating costs in human life and economic disruption that result from a successful attack. It is a worthwhile investment, and one necessary to fulfill the government's constitutional duty to provide for the common defense of its citizens." <snip>

[papau]

1. ALSO: Border Security System's Limits Assailed

Border Security System's Limits Assailed



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bo...
THE NATION
Border Security System's Limits Assailed
Lawmaker questions the effectiveness of program built on databases that are not fully compatible.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Times Staff Writer

August 17, 2004

WASHINGTON — A new government computer program that tries to identify terrorists and criminals from among millions of foreign visitors was built from antiquated components that cannot easily exchange information, limiting its effectiveness in the war on terrorism, a senior Democratic lawmaker charged Monday.

"You are going down a dead-end road here, and sooner or later, it is going to be apparent," said Rep. Jim Turner of Texas, the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security.

At issue is US-VISIT, a program launched in January by the Department of Homeland Security and hailed at the time as the most significant advance in immigration enforcement in decades. The name stands for U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology. Now deployed at airports and seaports, it will be phased in at major land border crossings late this year.

The system uses two digital fingerprints and a photo to verify the identity of an arriving traveler as it conducts an instantaneous background check.<snip>

But Turner said an investigation by his staff showed that the technology had been grafted onto old immigration databases not fully compatible with either the FBI's massive fingerprint library or the State Department's database of people seeking to travel to the United States.<snip>