As Key Vote Nears, City Congressmembers to Call for Passage of S.O.S. Act

As Key Vote Nears, City Congressmembers to Call for Passage of S.O.S. Act

Representatives Nadler, Maloney, Meeks, Velazquez call for 100-percent scanning of shipping containers

BROOKLYN, NY - Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Congressman Gregory Meeks, and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez today called for the passage of a bill to mandate the scanning of 100 percent of U.S.-bound shipping containers at their port of origin. Speaking at the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn, the Congressmembers emphasized that the only way to get serious about port security is to scan all containers before they sail for the U.S.

Nadler and Maloney have introduced the Sail Only if Scanned (S.O.S.) Act, H.R. 4899, which would ensure that every shipping container arriving in the United States contained only its intended cargo and had not been tampered with en route. The bill is nearing a vote in the House Homeland Security Committee, where it will be offered as an amendment to a broader ports bill that will move to the House floor. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer have both cosponsored the S.O.S. Act.

"The American people are demanding that their government get serious about port security, but as long as we allow containers to arrive at our ports uninspected, we are failing them," Congressman Nadler said. "The prospect of a nuclear weapon being snuck into one of our ports is all too real. It's time for Congress to act decisively."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny08_nadler/BrooklynSOS032306.html