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entering the U.S. through the busiest 22 seaports must be inspected for radiation and includes a pilot program requiring inspection of all U.S.-bound containers at three foreign ports.

The two very similar Commerce Com- mittee bills (S. 1052 and S. 2791) were introduced by the Committee Chairman,

Ted Stevens (R-AK), and the Ranking

Democrat, Dan Inouye (D-HI), and build upon legislation developed by the Com- mittee four years ago, the Maritime Trans- portation Security Act of 2002. The bills are broader than the Collins-Murray bill, addressing not only maritime security but also aviation, rail, and motor carrier trans- portation security. The maritime sections of the bills are less detailed than the

Homeland Security Committee's bill but cover much of the same subject matter, including port security grants and contain- er inspection. On the House side, the com- panion of the GreenLane bill is the SAFE-

Port Act (H.R. 4954), sponsored by two

California Members, Republican Dan

Lungren and Democrat Jane Harman.

The bill, which recently passed the House, is comparable in many respects to the

Green Lane bill and provides a multi-lay- ered approach to port and container secu- rity. The bill includes a requirement to use nuclear and radiological detection systems by late 2007 at 22 U.S. seaports.

During the House passage of the SAFE-

Port Act, the principal debate was over an amendment by Congressman Markey (D-

MA) requiring 100% inspection of con- tainers entering the U.S. Currently only a small percentage of so-called "high risk" containers are actually inspected at over- seas ports. The bill's sponsors objected on the basis that existing technology is not capable of inspecting all containers in a timely manner. In response to Mr.

Markey's praise for technology now in use in Hong Kong, a provision was added to the bill directing the Secretary of Home- land Security to conduct a pilot project at an overseas port similar to the Integrated

Container Inspection System being tested at the port of Hong Kong.

Likely Outcomes

It appears likely that some type of port security measure will be approved by this

Congress. The various bills are close enough that a conference should not be difficult. It remains to be seen whether the CFIUS reform bills have the necessary impetus to reach final passage since many of the reforms seem to have been imple- mented already and the tone in Washing- ton has moderated somewhat on blocking foreign investment in the U.S.

UPDATE: On July 26, 2006, the House and Senate passed their respective CFIUS reform bills, and are headed to Confer- ence. Expect final passage in September.

Joan M. Bondareff currently Of Counsel at Blank Rome LLP focuses her practice on marine transportation, environmental and legislative issues. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Bondareff was Chief Coun- sel and Acting Deputy Administrator of the Maritime Administration, U.S Depart- ment of Transportation. She can be con- tacted at [email protected]

James Drewry, partner at Blank Rome

LLP, has extensive experience providing government affairs and legislative coun- sel to clients. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Drewry served in senior counsel positions for the Senate Commit- tee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- portation. He can be contacted at [email protected]

August, 2006 • MarineNews 15

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