Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act

Floor Speech

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3202, the ``Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act,'' introduced by the Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Border and Maritime, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

H.R. 3202 seeks to ensure that Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, as implemented by TSA and the Coast Guard, deliver the security benefits that Congress envisioned in the SAFE Port Act of 2006.

We have worked hard, on a bipartisan basis, to make this program work.

However, as documented in multiple reports on the program produced by the Government Accountability Office, TWIC has not lived up to our expectations.

Meanwhile, working-class Americans whose livelihoods depend on accessing ports and vessels have borne the costs of this troubled program.

Longshoremen, truck drivers, and others are paying hard-earned money for biometric cards that may offer only limited security value.

The bill before us today would require an independent assessment of the TWIC program and mandate the Secretary issue a corrective action plan in response to the assessment.

The required assessment should give Congress the information it needs to determine how best to proceed with the program.

The bill does not, however, delay the long-overdue final rule for deployment of TWIC readers, which is expected to limit significantly the ports required to utilize biometric readers.

If that is the case, and depending on the outcome of the assessment required by the bill, Congress may need to examine whether requiring workers who do not need to access ports with biometric readers should continue to be required to purchase a biometric credential.

For today, I look forward to speedy approval of this bill by the House and hope it will be considered by the Senate and signed by the President in short order.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3202, the ``Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act.''

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