Legislative Activity

House Panel to Consider Port Security

This week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation will hold a hearing on “The Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port.”  In a memo accompanying the hearing announcement, the Subcommittee staff explained that while the risks of a terrorist smuggling weapons of mass destruction in a shipping container may be low, the consequences are potentially very high, noting the United States’ heavy reliance on ocean transportation for the transport of cargo.  The two-panel hearing will include senior government officials, including Rear Admiral Peter Brown, Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard for Response Policy, and Dr. Huban Gowadia, Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Monday, October 26: The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security will hold a hearing titled “Examining Critical Security Measures, Communications, and Response at our Nation’s Airports.”

• Tuesday, October 27: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation will hold a hearing titled “Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port.”

• Tuesday, October 27: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management and the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency will hold a joint hearing titled “Examining Ongoing Challenges at the U.S. Secret Service and their Government-Wide Implications.”

• Wednesday, October 28: The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “Oversight of the United States Department of Justice.”