Air shipping: Politicans ask Government Accountability Office to review air cargo screening requirements

Jeff Berman, Senior Editor -- Logistics Management, 2/4/2008

WASHINGTON—With a keen eye on the steps being taken to ensure the 100 percent screening of air cargo on passenger planes, politicians are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the 100 percent cargo screening requirement on passenger planes by 2010 as outlined in “H.R. 1 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007,” which was passed last August and signed into law by President Bush.

This request to fully review the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) 100 percent screening requirement came from Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).

When the bill was passed last August, it called for the scanning of all cargo on passenger planes within the next three years. This part of the bill first appeared as part of “S. 509, the Aviation Security Improvement Act,” which was subsequently rolled into the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 legislation.  

And when S. 509 was first introduced, it charged the TSA with establishing a system to screen all cargo transported on passenger aircraft operated by domestic or foreign air carriers. The system would be required to deploy equipment, technology, personnel, and other methods to provide a level of security that, at minimum, equals security levels for passengers’ checked baggage.

“Congress mandated 100 percent screening of air cargo on passenger planes to close known security weaknesses and our work continues to ensure that TSA is held accountable for implementing the intent of Congress,” said Chairman Thompson in a statement.

Now that the legislation has been passed the screening mandates are specific and goal-oriented, so that 50 percent of its objectives will be completed in the three-year timeframe and 50 percent of it will be completed within 18 months of when the legislation was first signed into law, said Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association in an interview earlier today.

“The TSA is well underway in making sure that the milestones are reached, and I can tell you that from speaking with our members about a greater TSA presence, more TSA involvement and more interaction with the agency on how to reach the mandated steps,” said Fried.

With the first year anniversary of the legislation being passed coming up in August and TSA required under the legislation to present its cargo screening implementation plan to Congress, as well as report its progress to date, the need for a GAO report on top of that may not be entirely necessary, considering the fact that TSA is well underway in its process, explained Fried. He added that these mandates are clear and spelled out and the GAO’s involvement potentially adds another part to the mix that may not be required.

“In terms of its screening measures, the TSA has really ratcheted it up,” said Fried. “And it becomes more evident day by day that they are going to meet these screening mandates. There is no doubt in my mind that they are feeling the pressure of it and are committed to ensure the requirements are fulfilled.

This should be seen as welcome news to air cargo shippers, considering the fact that when S. 509 was being discussed in January 2007, there were more questions than answers about how effective this legislation may be.

One major concern cited at the time was whether or not the flow of commerce would be slowed down, as well as the differentiation between physical inspection screening and risk-based screening (which was mandated in S. 509 and H.R. 1). Fried told LM in March 2007 that a risk-based method would expedite cargo flow, so if it is obvious something does not have to be searched, time would not have to be spent doing that.

And Chris Coppersmith, president and CEO of Target Logistics, an airfreight forwarder and logistics services provider in Carson, Calif., told LM last year that a risk-based, multi-layered approach to cargo screening may be more effective than 100 percent inspection, although that approach also has its questions.

“The fragility of airfreight can be affected by anything that delays the [shipping] process for any significant period of time,” said Coppersmith. “And it changes the dynamic of expedited freight, which we are dependent on as a country for things like same-day and overnight delivery of emergency supplies and materials, which has been cut down to hours as a result of our expedited systems.”