Jack Reed: “on Monday, we marked the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The horror and sadness of the attacks on the…”

“on Monday, we marked the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The horror and sadness of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon remain with us as a nation. We are still trying to come to grips with the security failures that allowed four civilian airplanes to be hijacked resulting in the death and injury of thousands of Americans and civilians from across the world. Fortunately, there has not been a terrorist attack on the United States since 9/11; but al-Qaida continues to perpetrate terrorist attacks throughout the world. We remain at risk. Today, we are considering legislation essential to keeping American ports and the maritime industry safe from terrorist attacks. I commend Senators Collins, Lieberman, Stevens, Inouye, Grassley, Baucus, and Murray for their work on this legislation. While our Nation acted quickly after 9/11 to secure our airports and airplanes, major vulnerabilities remain in maritime and surface transportation. As the 9/11 Commission concluded ``opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime and surface transportation'' as in commercial aviation. I am glad the Senate is finally turning its attention to these critical security challenges. A terrorist incident at one of our Nation's ports could have tremendous costs in human lives and force the shutdown of ports across the Nation, which would have devastating and long-term impacts on our economy.…”