Contact: press@edmarkey.org
FACT CHECK: Ed Markey Has Been a Leader On Homeland & National Security Issues Since 9/11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andrew Zucker: 617-398-0428; Giselle Barry: 781-960-5338
Charlestown, Massachusetts – Markey for Senate campaign spokesman Andrew Zucker released the following statement today regarding Ed Markey’s leadership on homeland and national security issues since 9/11:
“Ed Markey wrote the laws that forced cargo inspection of passenger planes and nuclear materials inspections for ships coming into our ports. He’s fought tirelessly to strengthen security at nuclear power plants and to keep dangerous small knives off passenger planes, and his record of fighting for our homeland and national security speaks for itself.”
BACKGROUND
MARKEY AIRLINE CARGO SCREENING BILL WAS PASSED INTO LAW
Boston Herald: “Cargo-screen bill clears hurdle” In 2007, Markey “claimed victory in his four-year battle to have all passenger-airline cargo go through security screening before planes take off. Congressional negotiators have agreed on a compromise bill that would phase in over three years a system requiring commercial cargo – which is now loaded on passenger planes without the same extensive screening that passengers and their baggage undergo – would have to be checked by authorities before flights. ‘Passenger shoes have to be taken off (before flights) but the cargo in planes isn’t screened,’ said Markey of the current system. Now federal inspectors would have to treat commercial cargo as they do passengers and their luggage – using a combination of x-ray machines, chemical-sniffing dogs and other measures to make sure terrorists aren’t trying to sneak aboard explosives or weapons via cargo holds.” [Boston Herald, 7/27/07]
Markey’s Legislation Included In Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. Markey’s legislation was included in H.R. 1, the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. That bill was signed into law in August of 2007. [H.R. 1, 8/3/07]
FOLLOWING YEARS OF ADVOCACY, MARKEY AUTHORED PROVISIONS OF 2005 ENERGY BILL REQUIRING INCREASED SECURITY AT NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Markey Added Provisions to Energy Policy Act of 2005 to Require Increased Security At Nuclear Facilities. After 9/11, Ed Markey authored provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to upgrade the security at nuclear reactors. Inside Energy reported that the conference “accepted a Markey amendment aimed at tightening security at nuclear plants. The proposal would require security tests at each of the nation’s 103 nuclear plants every three years and directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop a new “design basis threat,” which describes potential sabotage that nuclear utilities are required to protect against. The amendment also would require a federal security coordinator in each NRC region.” [Inside Energy, 7/25/05; Office of Rep. Markey Release, 7/19/05; H.R. 6, 8/8/2005]
FOR YEARS, MARKEY WORKED TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SECURITY VULNERABILITIES AT LNG TERMINALS
Markey Worked To Secure Nuclear And LNG Facilities Against Attack. The Boston Globe wrote that Markey had spent years raising awareness of the vulnerabiy of LNG terminals and nuclear plants to terrorist attack, and that 9/11 had caused others to take notice: “As an upstart young congressman, Markey fought against nuclear proliferation in general and the Seabrook nuclear plant in particular. Today he watches as National Guardsmen stand watch over nuclear facilities that for years Markey has warned were susceptible to terrorist attack. Over the course of 13 terms in Congress, he has warned about the vulnerability of the mammoth liquefied natural gas terminal in Everett, which abuts his hometown. Today Boston Harbor comes to a halt when LNG tankers pull in to deliver their 33-million-gallon loads, Coast Guardsmen and police snipers standing watch to deter an attack.” [Boston Globe, 12/2/01]
MARKEY LED THE CHARGE AGAINST TSA’S DECISION TO ALLOW KNIVES ON AIRPLANES, DECLARED VICTORY WHEN TSA ANNOUNCED DELAY
Markey Introduced The “No Knives Act Of 2013” To Reverse Dangerous TSA Policy To Allow Knives Back On Planes. In March 2013, the Republican reported: “Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey is pressuring the Transportation Safety Administration to reverse its policy allowing small knives back on airplanes. Markey said Tuesday that he will introduce legislation with U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican, to freeze the TSA’s permitted items list as it stands today.” [H.R. 1093, 3/12/13; The Republican, 3/12/13]
Markey Was Endorsed By The Association Of Professional Flight Attendants For His Opposition To TSA Decision To Allow Knives On Planes. In April 2013, the Republican reported: “In the latest union endorsement in the special election to replace Secretary of State John Kerry in the U.S. Senate, Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey is announcing the support of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. The union, which represents 428 American Airlines flight attendants based out of Boston’s Logan International Airport, cited Markey’s recent opposition to a Transportation Safety Administration decision to allow small knives on airplanes for the first time since the Sept. 2001 terror attacks.” [The Republican, 4/2/13]
Markey Called TSA Decision To Delay Change Allowing Knives On Planes “A Victory For The Passengers, Pilots, Flight Attendants And Law Enforcement Officers.” In April 2013, the LA Times reported: “Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass), who has spoken out against allowing knives on planes, called the delay ‘a victory for the passengers, pilots, flight attendants and law enforcement officers who would have immediately been at risk of a knife attack.’” [LA Times, 4/23/13]
Markey: “If There Is An Opportunity To Decrease Risks To Americans, We Have A Duty To Protect Our Citizens And Disallow Knives From Being Taken Onto Planes.” In April 2013, TIME reported: “Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., another opponent, said he will continue to push TSA to drop the proposal entirely. ‘People with radical ideas can use everyday objects to cause great harm,’ Markey said. ‘If there is an opportunity to decrease risks to Americans, we have a duty to protect our citizens and disallow knives from being taken onto planes.’” [TIME,4/24/13]
MARKEY SUCCEEDED IN GETTING PORT SCREENING PROTECTIONS INTO THE 9-11 BILL, CONTINUES TO FIGHT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT LAW
Markey Succeeded In Getting Maritime Screening Protections Into The 9/11 Commission Bill Of 2007. Markey ultimately succeeded in getting the mandate that all maritime cargo bound for our country be scanned for nuclear bombs. In August 2007, when President Bush signed into law the legislation implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, it included the Markey provision mandating 100 percent scanning of maritime cargo coming into our country. [HR1, link]
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