WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats are wasting no time in rolling out
their homeland security agenda.

The House is expected to receive a bill Friday that will enact the
remainder of recommendations from the 9-11 Commission, and includes a
provision calling for non-intrusive inspection of all U.S.-bound containers
at foreign ports.

In the Senate, Hawaii Democrat Daniel Inouye, the new chairman of the
Commerce Committee, has introduced the Surface Transportation and Rail
Security (STAR) Act to advance security on railroads and highways.
 

The House security bill is likely to be labeled H.R. 1, to symbolize its
importance. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced four weeks ago that enacting all
of the commission's recommendations would be part of the Democrats' "100
hours" agenda. While the 9-11 Commission did not recommend scanning of all
containers, the provision would "go them one better on port security."

According to an analysis of the draft bill, it would require any container
entering the United States to be scanned using the "best available
technology," and sealed with a device that would detect any breach of security.

Under the terms of the SAFE Port Act, Customs and Border Protection will
set up pilot projects at foreign ports to test technology to make images of
container interiors, and detect radiation.

Once the Department of Homeland Security receives a report on the pilot
program, the new bill gives the agency one year to issue final rules.
Compliance with the proposed law would be phased in over three years in
countries that export more than 75,000 TEUs annually to the U.S., and five
years in countries with lower export volumes.

The STAR Act would provide grants to freight railroads and Amtrak for
security upgrades. It also orders the Transportation Security
Administration to conduct risk assessments on rail lines, and railroads to
develop threat-mitigation plans for the transport of some hazardous materials.

The bill also calls on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to
work with trucking companies to develop plans and routing procedures for
transport of hazardous materials. The bill also has security provisions for
buses and pipelines.

The STAR Act includes provisions that senators agreed to remove from the
SAFE Port Act before it passed Congress in October. At the time, Commerce
leaders, Inouye and then-chairman Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vowed to
reintroduce surface transportation measures early in the 110th Congress.
Stevens is a co-sponsor of the bill, along with a host of Democrats.