Knight Ridder Newspapers
Outcry over port deal obscures real security issues, experts say
Feb. 22, 2006
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/13936345.htmWASHINGTON - Port security has gone from a backwater concern to a big issue since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. But now, experts say, the controversy over the Bush administration's approval of a Persian Gulf-based firm to run operations at six U.S. ports is diverting attention from real port security issues.
Officials who run America's ports say the ports are much safer than they used to be. But they also say they aren't getting enough money to keep them safe, and they charge that the federal government is dragging its heels on a much-needed background check and identification card program for 6 million transportation workers.
The American Association of Port Authorities estimates that ports need $5.4 billion over 10 years to upgrade security, but the Bush administration has budgeted $708 million. And this month, the administration took grant money for port security and combined it with other transportation security grants. That means ports will have to compete against mass transit for security funds, said Bernard Groseclose, the organization's chairman and the president of the South Carolina State Port Authority.
The federal government also is more than 18 months behind on a background check and identification card program for 6 million port and other transportation workers, such as airport personnel and truck drivers, Groseclose said.