The American Trucking Associations on Tuesday, July 12, asked Congress to direct the Transportation Security Administration to work with industry rather than issuing excessive, burdensome and duplicative security rules.
“The private sector is an essential partner and part of the solution for combating terrorism,” ATA Vice President of Security and Operations Martin Rojas told the House Subcommittee on Transportation Security during Tuesday’s hearing. “We don’t need more regulation, we need more cooperation.” Rojas pointed to the apprehension by federal authorities of Khalid Ali-M Aldawasri following tips from ATA member company Con-way Inc. as a model for future private sector-public sector partnerships.
Rojas told the subcommittee that in the decade since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there have been a number of programs initiated to minimize the risk of another attack on U.S. soil that, while well intended, have resulted in a multiplicity of overlapping and burdensome security requirements on trucking companies. “Unfortunately, rather than augmenting the security of the transportation sector, the focus has been more on regulatory compliance than evaluating the impact of existing security requirements,” he said.
In addition to limiting future security mandates, Rojas recommended that as members of Congress look to reauthorize TSA, they encourage information sharing between the public and private sectors; improve coordination between federal agencies, many of whom already play a role in transportation security; and ensure that the rollout of readers for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential moves forward promptly.
