Hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Fischer, Markup on S. 763, S. 61, S. 701, S. 756, S. 770, and the Nomination of Jeffrey Rosen

Hearing

"Good morning and welcome everyone to the second executive session of this Congress. Today, we will be considering a number of measures, including the Surface and Maritime Transportation Security Act, which I have introduced with Senators Nelson, Fischer, and Booker. I am also pleased to have Senators Wicker, Blunt, Cantwell, and Blumenthal as cosponsors.

"This bill is designed to address concerns raised by independent government watchdog agencies that TSA is not adequately identifying risks across all modes of transportation. One of the provisions in our bill focuses on making sure TSA has enough canine units.

"To highlight the good work these units do, we are actually going to start our markup today with a short demonstration by two of Amtrak's canine detection teams. The teams will be showcasing the talents of these dedicated dogs and their handlers.

"Both canine teams we have here today are led by Sergeant Micah Jones. Sergeant Jones has been a certified handler since 1996 and has been training canine teams since 2008. Sergeant Jones retired with 21 years of service in the United States Air Force as a Master Sergeant.

"He honed his canine experience during deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, among other locations. I also want to thank his boss, Amtrak Police Chief Neil Trugman, for being here and facilitating today's demo.

"The first demo team is Officer Ryan Tullar and K9 Ivan. Officer Tullar and Ivan have been a certified team since 2012. K9 Ivan is one of the Amtrak Police Department's Vapor Wake canines, and he has the ability to detect explosive odor on a moving target.

"Thank you Officer Tullar and Ivan. We will now start the second demo, with Officer Daniel Scanlon and K9 Ladley. Ladley is honorably named after Mr. James Patrick Ladley, a 41 year old businessman who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and tragically lost his life.

"Officer Scanlon and Ladley have been a certified team since 2013. K9 Ladley is one of the Amtrak Police Department's TSA Conventional canines, which means he has the ability to detect explosive odor on stationary targets.

"Thank you officers and K9s for that demonstration. We all truly appreciate your great work.

"It is my hope that the Surface and Maritime Transpiration Security Act will be reported favorably today and that we can continue to work with the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, under Chairman Johnson's leadership, and others to ensure its eventual enactment.

"In addition to the Surface and Maritime Transportation Security Act, we will also be considering a handful of other measures and the nomination of Mr. Jeffery Rosen to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation.

"These include Senator Sullivan's Save our Seas Act of 2017, which will reauthorize the Marine Debris program at NOAA, and Senator Cantwell's bill, S. 61, which will allow the States of Washington, Oregon, and California to continue to manage the Dungeness crab fishery permanently.

"There is also Senator Schatz's MAIN STREET Cybersecurity Act, which I am pleased to cosponsor, along with Small Business Committee Chairman Risch and Senators Nelson, Cantwell, Gardner, and Cortez-Masto.

"This legislation will help small businesses get the information they need to protect themselves and their customers from cyber attacks.

"We'll also be considering the Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act of 2017. Sponsored by Senators Gillibrand, Capito, Moran, Blumenthal, and Klobuchar, it was considered by the Committee as part of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act last year, but was not included in the final enacted measure.

"I look forward to getting feedback from, and working with the new Administration and the sponsors, as this bill proceeds to the Senate floor.

"With that, I will turn to Senator Nelson for any opening remarks."

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