By Calvin Biesecker
The House on Wednesday approved seven new homeland security bills covering areas such as covert bomb testing, bomb prevention and respond, and biometrics, that the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security hopes to have included in a House and Senate authorization bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this year.
Among the measures approved by the House is H.R. 5982, The Biometric Enhancement for Airport-Risk Reduction (BEAR) Act of 2008, which requires the Transportation Security Administration to study how airports can adopt biometric identification systems for airport workers (Defense Daily, May 8).
The Airports Council International supports the BEAR Act because it engages industry stakeholders in how biometrics might be used for identifying airport workers. The International Biometric Industry Association, a group that represents the developers and suppliers of biometric technologies, yesterday applauded the legislation, saying it “provides a systematic and comprehensive approach to aviation security.”
The BEAR Act was sponsored by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
The House also passed H.R. 5909, The Catching Operational Vulnerabilities by Ensuring Random Testing (COVERT) Act of 2008, sponsored by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.). The COVERT Act prohibits advance notice of covert testing to airport security screeners.
The National Bombing Prevention Act of 2008, H.R. 4749, sponsored by ranking committee member Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), establishes an Office of Bombing Prevention within DHS and directs the president to develop and implement a national strategy to prevent and prepare for terrorist explosive acts in the United States. DHS already has an Office of Bombing Prevention and King’s bill would codify the office in law and provide it some direction.
King’s legislation also requires DHS to work with state, local and tribal governments to assess the capabilities of bomb squads throughout the country and to promote information sharing and the development of new technology.
Other legislation approved by the House includes H.R. 2631, The Nuclear Forensics and Attribution Act, which was sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and supports international and domestic efforts to create a nuclear forensics capability to determine the sources of nuclear and dirty bombs. The Fair, Accurate and Timely Redress Act of 2008, H.R. 4179, which was sponsored by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), creates a process for redress of people who have been mistakenly put on terrorist watch lists.
Two other pieces of legislation include a resolution prodding TSA to enhance security in the rail and mass transit environment and a bill calling for the Government Accountability Office to study how the Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer organization that does inland search and rescue missions, can partner with DHS.