New Measures for Aviation Security and Information Sharing

Yesterday, I joined White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan to announce recommendations that DHS has made to the President for improving the technology and procedures used to protect air travel from acts of terrorism.

The attempted attack on Northwest Flight 253 is a powerful illustration that terrorists will go to great lengths to try to defeat the security measures that have been put in place since Sept. 11, 2001. The steps I outlined yesterday will strengthen aviation security—at home and abroad—through new partnerships, technology and law enforcement efforts.

These steps include

• Re-evaluating and modifying the criteria and process used to create terrorist watch lists—including adjusting the process by which names are added to the “No-Fly” and “Selectee” lists.
• Establishing a partnership on aviation security between DHS and the Department of Energy and its National Laboratories in order to develop new and more effective technologies to deter and disrupt known threats and protect against new ways by which terrorists could seek to board an aircraft.
• Accelerating deployment of advanced imaging technology to provide greater explosives detection capabilities—and encourage foreign aviation security authorities to do the same—in order to identify materials such as those used in the attempted Dec. 25 attack. The Transportation Security Administration currently has 40 machines deployed throughout the United States, and plans to deploy 300 additional units in 2010.
• Strengthening the presence and capacity of aviation law enforcement—by deploying law enforcement officers from across DHS to serve as Federal Air Marshals to increase security aboard U.S.-bound flights.
• Working with international partners to strengthen international security measures and standards for aviation security.

Additionally, last week I dispatched Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman and other senior Department officials to meet with leaders from major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South America to review security procedures and technology being used to screen passengers on U.S.-bound flights and work on ways to collectively bolster our tactics for defeating terrorists

Later this month, I will travel to Spain for the first of a series of global meetings with my international counterparts intended to bring about broad consensus on new international aviation security standards and procedures.

These steps come in addition to the Department’s immediate actions following the attempted attack on Dec. 25, 2009—including enhanced security measures at domestic airports and new international security directives that mandate enhanced screening of every individual flying into the United States from or through nations that are State Sponsors of Terrorism or other countries of interest and threat-based, random enhanced screening for all other passengers traveling on U.S.-bound flights.

I want to thank the Department of Homeland Security personnel who have been working day-in and day-out to implement these security measures since Christmas—as well as the traveling public for their continued patience. The public remains one of our most valuable layers of defense against acts of terrorism.

Janet Napolitano

Stimulating the Economy

As you may know, the President recently launched a new website – Recovery.gov – that allows the public to track how our taxpayer dollars are being spent under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus).

Recovery.gov reflects the President’s commitment to bring a new level of transparency and openness to government as we work to strengthen our economy. That is a commitment I share for our Department – and the reason we’ve created www.dhs.gov/recovery.

The stimulus provides more than $3 billion in new homeland security funding. This funding will be used to improve security at our borders, rebuild our Coast Guard fleet, expand technology, strengthen rail and transit security, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. It will also create thousands of new jobs.

Let me give you a concrete example:

On Thursday, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it will be using $1 billion in stimulus funds to deploy checked baggage and checkpoint explosive detection systems at airports across the country.

This technology will enhance our ability to screen passengers and their bags for bombs and IEDs – including liquid explosives – while improving security and convenience. At the same time, it will create more than 3,000 new jobs associated with the construction and deployment of these systems.

This is precisely the purpose of the stimulus – to protect the country, stimulate the economy, and keep people working.

More projects are in the pipeline and will be coming soon. I invite you to keep track of our progress at www.dhs.gov/recovery.

Janet Napolitano

Partnership Key to Reducing Risk in Rail

Risk management and stakeholder engagement are key elements of TSA's surface transportation initiatives. Unlike in aviation, where TSA has employees performing security functions, we utilize stakeholder partnerships, grant funding and rulemaking to enhance security in surface modes.

Let's look at freight rail. There are 140,000 miles of freight-rail track and 560 railroads in the United States. Common items transported by rail are grains, cars, appliances and food, but a small number of rail cars – less than one percent - carry essential but potentially hazardous chemicals, such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia, which are called toxic inhalation hazard (TIH) materials. Toxic emissions that may result from an attack against a rail car carrying these chemicals presents a potentially serious risk in America's densely populated urban areas.

Instead of pursuing a lengthy rulemaking process, TSA worked in partnership with the rail industry to reduce toxic chemical risk. Beginning in 2007, the rail industry began sharing data on rail car movements to establish a baseline and a risk scoring system from which we could begin to measure risk reduction. Carriers retained local operating flexibility to reduce risk and worked with TSA to develop a risk reduction formula to that included unattended TIH car hours, population proximity, and the high threat urban area population.

As part of the collaboration, the freight rail industry implemented several key security measures including tracking and substantially reducing the standstill time for unattended freight cars transporting TIH materials in high threat urban areas, developing site-specific security plans, and providing security training for front line employees.

DHS's goal for rail TIH risk reduction was 50 percent by the end of 2008. This collaborative approach has been successful: as of this month, rail TIH risk has been reduced by more than 70 percent.

To complement and formalize the initiatives already underway, in November 2008, a Rail Security Final Rule (PDF, 180 pages - 801 KB) was published that covers the transport of TIH materials by rail, from start to finish, including predictable standstill points and unpredictable stops during shipment. The rule includes provisions that require freight rail carriers to ensure 100 percent positive hand-off of TIH materials, establish security protocols for custody transfers of TIH rail cars in the high threat urban areas, appoint a rail security coordinator to share information with the federal government, and formalize the TSA freight and passenger rail inspection authority. Under the Final Rule, TSA will require establishment of a tracking system that will enable the federal government to determine the location of rail cars carrying TIH materials within 30 minutes.

TSA appreciates the support of the rail industry and is using this collaborative approach to reduce risk in other transportation modes whenever possible.

Gale Rossides
Acting Administrator, TSA