Mike Levin: “securing our seaports against terrorist threats is a critical issue, and I commend Chairman Collins and Senator…”

“securing our seaports against terrorist threats is a critical issue, and I commend Chairman Collins and Senator Lieberman for their hard work on the bill we are debating today, the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006. Senators Collins and Lieberman have negotiated this bill not only with members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee but also with members of the Commerce and Finance Committees; they deserve our thanks for their tireless efforts. While seaports are the focus of this bill, I would like to point out that land ports are equally important ports of entry into this country; they also suffer security gaps, and they also receive attention in this bill. Right now, about 11 million containers enter this country by ship through our seaports; another 11 million containers enter this country by truck through our land ports. According to the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, for example, the northern border has 6 of the top 10 truck border crossings in the country, including the No. 1 crossing point in the Nation, the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. In fact, the Ambassador Bridge is currently the largest trade link that the United States has with another country, connecting Detroit, MI, and Windsor, Ontario with nearly 10,000 trucks crossing daily transporting goods worth nearly $110 billion per year. Over 60 percent of all trucks crossing the northern border take place in southeast Michigan.…”