Murray Unveils First-in-the-Nation Port Security Demonstration

"I'm proud to be here today to help demonstrate a new port security initiative to protect our ports, our citizens, and our economy.

I want to thank Rear Adm. Errol Brown, Tom Harry, Steven Froehlich, Mic Dinsmore, Tim Farrell, and Vic Verma for their hard work and dedication to securing our country, our economy, and our future.

To secure our ports we need new thinking, new technology, and new partnerships, and each of these individuals and their organizations is stepping up to the challenge. Thank you all for your partnership and commitment.

In Washington state, seaports are the lifeblood of our region's economy. Our ports move billions of dollars of goods each year and generate tens of thousands of good-paying, family-wage jobs across our state.

For decades in the Pacific Northwest, we've built our port infrastructure and procedures around economic efficiency. That's helped make the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma the third-busiest container load center in the nation.

But on September 11th, we tragically learned the need to realign our port system around both efficiency and security.

Among our largest security concerns have been the gaps in our trade system, which is built on a vision of free and open commerce. More than 6 million cargo containers enter the U.S. each year. Last year alone, 1.8 million containers entered the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

Our challenge is knowing what's in the containers, where they've come from, and whether they've been tampered with.

Improving security without undermining efficiency is critical to the economic health of our region.

Through my role on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, I held several hearings on port and cargo security. As a result of these hearings, I wrote and funded a new initiative called Operation Safe Commerce.

This pilot program will allow our nation's three largest ports - including Seattle and Tacoma - to monitor and track cargo. Operation Safe Commerce will help lay the foundation for a new national port security regime.

While we are working hard with our partners at TSA, the Coast Guard, Customs, and the Ports to launch Operation Safe Commerce, there are exciting things that are already happening on the ground that are making our country safer. That's why we are here today.

Through the vision and leadership of the individuals assembled here today, we now have a deployed security system. While the future is likely to produce many new systems and technologies to protect our security, today we are witnessing the first steps of achieving our goals. The significance of this first step is immense.

All involved deserve to be very proud of what they have accomplished here today. You are making a difference.

I would now like to introduce someone I have been fortunate to work closely with over the past several years, and who has done an outstanding job in protecting our ports and our waterways - the Commander of the Coast Guard's District 13 Region, Adm. Errol Brown."