Bob Menendez: “just a little while earlier, I offered an amendment that deals with trying to move us forward in a middle ground on the…”

“just a little while earlier, I offered an amendment that deals with trying to move us forward in a middle ground on the question of cargo screening. Last week, this body voted down an amendment that I offered with Senator Schumer that would have set some strong, clear deadlines to achieve 100 percent scanning of cargo coming into our Nation's ports. While I wish we could have persuaded more of our colleagues to support this framework for expanding scanning of our cargo containers, I understand a number of our colleagues have serious concerns about the consequences of setting a strict timeline to achieve 100 percent scanning. I hope this body will take a step forward toward achieving that goal rather than take no action at all. With that in mind, the amendment I have offered I hope will find a middle ground. This amendment would ensure that we are indeed on the road to 100 percent scanning of cargo, but it would not do so within the confines of any strict deadline. Instead, it builds upon the framework of the SAFE Port Act to call for a plan to meet the goal of 100 percent scanning.”