Cargo Screening Bill Shot Down By Business Owners

Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J. offered up a proposal as an amendment to a bill to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that would have required 100% cargo screening at terminals worldwide by the Department of Homeland Security.

The National Association of Manufacturers wrote in an open letter to senators. "A 100 percent scanning requirement could strangle commerce and have a significantly damaging impact on American manufacturers and cost jobs." Businesses across the country would inevitably have to absorb the costs associated with the screening through some form of taxation.

Fortunately, the Republican senators and a handful of Democrats shot down this amendment that would have required humongous increases in TSA screeners across the globe. The time and effort required to screen all cargo coming to the US would be extremely costly and would slow down our economy, each container shipment waiting on TSA approval. Our economy would slow to the speed of an airport security terminal leaving storefronts with empty shelves.

Editors Opinion-
Hopefully a realistic solution to the problem can be implemented that will enable security screeners to protect our country without strangling us with high costs. I imagine that it will require new technology that will allow some sort of "drive-by" screening, something that can see in the containers and show potential dangers to a screener. Then that screener could investigate the situation more thoroughly.

If Senators like Schumer and Menedez had their way we would be waiting in line for toilet paper like those of the former USSR, all for a false sense of security. I think we need to start thinking outside the box and developing new devices that would allow for security AND efficiency. Our shipping industry in the US has already suffered at the hands of our lawmakers and any more restrictions on US vessels will kill our ability compete with the foriegn markets.