House panel rejects plan to check all cargo abroad [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

House panel rejects plan to check all cargo abroad

Apr 26, 2006 — By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A House of Representatives committee on Wednesday rejected a Democratic proposal to require physical inspection of all U.S.-bound marine containers but approved a separate plan that may lead to expanded screening.

Democrats have seized on the port security issue after the Bush administration ran into a storm of controversy for its decision to approve a state-owned Dubai company's plan to manage six U.S. port terminals. The plan has since been aborted.

The proposal approved by the Homeland Security Committee would let the United States, if it decides to beef up security checks abroad, to deny entry to containers from countries that refuse to cooperate with the stepped-up inspections.

Currently, only a fraction of the millions of cargo containers that enter U.S. ports each year are inspected upon arrival or before entering U.S. waters. Ironically, the Dubai company had offered to pay for and implement radiation screening at ports it manages, but continued congressional resistance caused it to back out of its U.S. acquisitions.
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http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1893379