Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today the award of more than $15 million to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as part of the Department of Homeland Security's Fiscal Year 2007 Port Security Grant Program (PSGP). The Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport complex received $15,403,041 in grant money, of which the City of Los Angeles received $6,564,527.

"The Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport complex is a critical asset to the nation's economic infrastructure, and must be protected," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "This grant money will allow us to strengthen our ports which are moving the goods that are moving the national economy."

"Thanks to the efforts of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard and the other members of the Los Angeles delegation in Washington D.C., we can undertake needed security measures to make our ports the safest in the nation," Mayor Villaraigosa added.

As a Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard champions the need for increased federal funding for security at our nation's seaports.

"Today's award of $6.5 million and $4.6 million, respectively to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will help provide critical safeguards to protect the nation's largest container port complex and nearby communities against possible terrorist attack," Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said.  "I am pleased that these federal funds will enable port officials to use camera surveillance and other technologies to visually monitor the docks and berths for irregular activity, create a central surveillance command center that serves both ports, and provide enhanced radio communication, all of which will help to make the complex more secure."

The grant money, part of the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act's (SAFE Port Act) $210 million in awards this year, will fund projects including waterside surveillance system enhancements, command and control center system integration, communications system infrastructure, and waterborne asset protection.

Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport Complex

The Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport complex processes more than 43 percent of all of the seaborne goods that enter the country, making it the nation's leading seaport in terms of shipping container volume and cargo value. These goods have a value of more than $256 billion and provide an estimated 3.3 million jobs to the national economy. The Port generates 259,000 regional jobs and $8.4 billion in annual wages and tax revenues.

The SAFE Port Act

Federal funding for port security comes primarily through the Department of Homeland Security's Port Security Grant Program (PSGP). That program was reformed last year by Congress with the adoption of the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act (SAFE Port Act), which does several things, such as: 1) ensuring that funds are distributed on the basis of risk; and 2) authorizing funding to be appropriated.
The PSGP supports the implementation of the Interim National Preparedness Goals and Priorities and assists ports to address security priorities including: enhancing maritime domain awareness capabilities; building capabilities to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from attacks involving improvised explosive devices and other non-conventional weapons; training and exercises; efforts to support implementation of the transportation workers identification credentials; and efforts in support of the national preparedness architecture.

The SAFE Port Act authorizes the development of 21st century inspection equipment, so that Customs agents can check inside cargo containers for dangerous materials without having to open them. The SAFE Port Act codifies into law the Container Security Initiative, launched in 2002, which deploys American inspectors to dozens of foreign ports on five continents where they are screening cargo before it leaves for our country.

The act also codifies into law the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, a joint effort between the public and private sectors to improve cargo security, and provides additional authority for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, established to guard against the threat of terrorists smuggling a nuclear device into our country.

The SAFE Port Act requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish a plan to speed the resumption of trade in the event of a terrorist attack on our ports or waterways.
 

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