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Port Workers to Get Security Checks, Identity Cards (Update1) By John Hughes About 750,000 U.S. port workers must get criminal background checks and carry federal identification cards for access to secure areas, the Homeland Security Department said. Workers would be denied cards because of terrorism ties, immigration status or past criminal offenses such as making bomb threats, the agency said today in announcing the new regulation in Washington. The cards will identify workers by name, a serial number, photograph and fingerprint. ``This is a significant increase in security,'' Kip Hawley, head of the agency's Transportation Security Administration, said in an interview. ``It's another layer that goes on top of what we have already done.'' The Transportation Worker Identification Credential program is part of Homeland Security's effort to extend anti-terror measures beyond airports. Democrats who take control of the U.S. Congress tomorrow have criticized the agency for moving too slowly on port security. Workers must present the cards for visual inspections by security guards and the U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland Security said. Coast Guard inspectors also will be able to use handheld devices to automatically scan the cards, Hawley said. Industry executives opposed an early version of the rule requiring machine scanning of all workers' cards before they could enter secure areas, Hawley said. That provision has been delayed while a common card-scanning standard is set, he said. Port Authorities The American Association of Port Authorities, representing 150 port authorities, is pleased that the U.S. is continuing to review the machine requirement, said Aaron Ellis, communications director for the Alexandria, Virginia-based group. ``We still are very much in support'' of the program, Ellis said. ``Our members stand ready to work closely with TSA.'' A vendor to produce the cards will be selected by the end of the month, said Hawley, who declined to name companies competing for the contract. After the vendor is selected, the agency will decide which ports to start with, and all ports will be covered within 18 months, he said. The cards cost $139 to $159 each and are valid for five years. Enrollment will begin at some ports in March and be phased in nationwide, the Homeland Security Department said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
