Washington, DC – During a hearing today chaired by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff expressed support for federal legislation to strengthen the security of the nation’s chemical facilities. Senator Collins has introduced major, comprehensive legislation that, for the first time, would address the security vulnerabilities that exist at our nation’s chemical plants. The Chemical Facility Anti-terrorism Act of 2005 would provide new authority to DHS to ensure that America’s chemical facilities are better protected from terrorists.
During today’s hearing, Secretary Chertoff testified that the Administration supports a chemical security bill and would like to see such legislation passed “this year.”
“This is a strong and clear statement that the Administration supports federal regulation of security at chemical facilities. In addition, the Administration’s budget, for the first time, requests funding dedicated to chemical security. Specifically, the budget provides funding for an office within DHS to strengthen the security of chemical facilities as we have proposed in our legislation. I am pleased that Secretary Chertoff appears to stand behind our efforts to pass chemical security legislation this year, as it remains one of my top priorities for the Committee,” said Senator Collins.
Senator Collins’ legislation directs DHS to establish risk-based criteria to determine which chemical facilities are vulnerable to terrorist attack and establish security standards for those facilities. Chemical plant facilities would be required to conduct vulnerability assessments and create site security and emergency response plans based on their specific vulnerabilities, subject to approval by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Facilities that fail to comply with the security standards would be subject to fines and penalties. In addition, the bill gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to shut down high-risk chemical facilities that the Secretary believes have not adequately addressed the risk of a terrorist attack.
The Government Accountability Office last week released a report on chemical security that endorsed many key provisions of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Thomas Carper (D-DE), and Carl Levin (D-MI). The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has held four hearings on chemical security.