Susan Collins: “once again, I will explain the provisions of the bill. It has a layered system of security for our cargo and, by the end…”

“once again, I will explain the provisions of the bill. It has a layered system of security for our cargo and, by the end of next year, it requires that the 22 busiest ports in the United States, which handle 98 percent of all cargo containers, will have installed the equipment to screen for radiation, for radiological devices, including a nuclear device. So it is not just studies and plans, as the Senator from New York repeatedly says; it has specific mandates. The Coleman amendment, adopted yesterday, requires 100 percent screening and scanning of all high-risk containers. But the fact is that we do not yet have feasible, efficient, practical technology in place to allow us to do 100 percent scanning of all containers without significantly slowing container movement, producing a backlog, and harming our economy. I move to table the Schumer amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the motion. The clerk will call the roll. The legislative clerk called the roll. Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senator was necessarily absent: The Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Chafee).”