GHY Tradelines

(David Perera – Fierce Homeland Security)

The Coast Guard would curtail air and surface operations by nearly 25 percent and a significant portion of frontline Homeland Security Department personnel would be furloughed for up to 14 days should sequestration begin on March 1, says Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Across-the-board cuts could also potentially result in reductions in force, Napolitano said, using the government term for layoffs.

In a Feb. 13 letter sent in response to a request from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, Napolitano said the overall effect of across-the-board spending cuts would be to increase national risk.

Sequestration, originally set to take effect in January following the November 2011 failure of a joint congressional committee to settle on a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction plan, is now set to exact automatic cuts of $85 billion equally divided between defense and non-defense spending starting in March.

Many in Congress have said sequestration is inevitable; speaking with Capitol Hill reporters Feb. 12, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it seems “pretty clear to me that sequester is going to go into effect,” adding that there is “no evidence that the House plans to act on this matter before the end of the month.” Read more here.
 

(DHS)

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced the expansion of the temporary, blanket waiver of the Jones Act, issued yesterday, to also facilitate the transportation of feedstocks, blending components, and additives used to produce fuels.

As a result of impacts caused by Hurricane Sandy, yesterday Secretary Napolitano issued a temporary, blanket waiver of the Jones Act to immediately allow additional oil tankers coming from the Gulf of Mexico to enter Northeastern ports, to provide additional fuel resources to the region. Read more here.
 

(The Toronto Star – Tonda MacCharles)

The idea of building a fence along the U.S.-Canada border has been officially ditched.

Instead, the United States’ new Northern Border Strategy looks to rely on more virtual eyes in the sky, boots on the ground and greater integration with Canadian law enforcement.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano released Tuesday the new blueprint, the first department-wide strategy for American policy and operations at the northern border. The 20-page document foresees a far more fluid border – at least as far as law enforcement personnel and border guards go.

It says the U.S. will continue to rely on the “strategic deployment of technology” – radars, sensors, cameras posted on poles between ports of entry, drones in the sky, and vehicle scanners – as a “force multiplier” to deter and prevent terrorism and illicit activity on the border. It flags “the next generation of integrated cross-border law enforcement,” such as a planned permanent extension of the joint vessel patrol pilot program – known as Shiprider – in shared waterways; the planned introduction of similar joint land operations; and efforts underway to eventually share biometric information collected through each country’s immigration visa application system. Read more here.
 

(CBP)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano [Monday] announced the publication of a Final rule that would establish Global Entry – a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) voluntary initiative, which allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers to streamline the international arrivals and admission process at airports for trusted travelers through biometric identification – as a permanent program.

“Global Entry expedites the customs and security process for trusted air travelers through biometric verification, while helping DHS ensure the safety of all airline passengers,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Making Global Entry permanent will improve customer service at airports across the country and enable law enforcement to focus on higher-risk travelers.”
 

(International Freighting Weekly)

US Secretary Napolitano says DHS is committed to protecting transport systems from attack and disruption

US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has issued a new call for global co-operation on supply chain security.

Discussing the new National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was committed to protecting transport systems from attacks and disruptions, and increasing the resilience of global supply chains.

“We must continue to strengthen global supply chains to ensure that they operate effectively in time of crisis, recover quickly from disruptions and facilitate international trade,” she said. Read more here.
 

(San Diego Reader – Matt Potter)

San Diego’s Alan Bersin, who quit his post as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection just before his so-called recess appointment ran out at the end of the year, has been given a new job in the Obama Administration.

At a changing of the guard ceremony in Washington Friday during which ex-Border Patrol chief David Aguilar was sworn in as Bersin’s CBP successor, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano revealed the new position.

“Today, I’m pleased to announce that President Obama has appointed Commissioner Bersin to serve a new role within DHS – that of Assistant Secretary of International Affairs. DHS could not succeed in its mission without strong international partnerships and engagement,” Read more here.
 

(Nelson Balido — Security Debrief)

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin last Thursday announced his resignation effective December 30. For folks who monitor border trade and security issues, this wasn’t exactly a surprise. But it was still a disappointment.

In March 2010, President Obama appointed Mr. Bersin CBP commissioner through a recess appointment (when Congress was out of session). This was a case of the president having grown tired of the Senate Finance Committee’s failure to do its job and act on the president’s formal nomination of Mr. Bersin to lead an agency that is critical to the country’s security and economic health.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus convened his committee in May 2010 to consider the Bersin nomination. Unfortunately, very little of the hearing focused on Mr. Bersin’s qualifications and the pressing need to confirm the president’s nomination for an agency that, as Sen. Baucus said in his opening remarks, “is the face of America.” [...]

While I’m disappointed that Mr. Bersin didn’t get a chance to continue as commissioner, it would not be accurate to say that the trade community is saddled with a consolation prize. It’s just the opposite.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the right choice in naming deputy commissioner David Aguilar as the new acting commissioner and Tom Winkowski, who currently heads CBP’s field operations, as the acting deputy commissioner. Read more here.
 

(Richard Dunham — Hearst Newspapers)

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday she’s satisfied with the federal government’s security staffing along the Northern border.

At a breakfast meeting with reporters, Napolitano said that in addition to “manpower,” she would like to see a “greater reliance on technology, as well.”

The Obama administration’s top domestic security official said that personnel levels along the U.S.-Canada border are “mandated by Congress” and that she is satisfied “overall.” Read more here.
 

(AFP)

The United States is dropping plans to ask global ports for full container screenings before they are being shipped over, US Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.

“We believe the so-called 100 percent requirement is probably not the best way to go,” Napolitano told reporters at a press briefing in Rotterdam, where she was visiting Europe’s largest port and the fourth-largest globally.

Napolitano is on a week-long tour of Britain and Europe to beef up security ties within the global supply chain between the US, Britain and Europe and has met her British counterpart Theresa May earlier this week.

On Thursday she is meeting EU ministers and will participate in a conference organised by the World Customs Organisation in Brussels, where she said she would deliver a similar message.

Asked about a 2007 US Congress requirement that all containers entering the US should be scanned by their ports of exit by 2012, Napolitano said: “We are at this point not going to insist on that.” Read more here.
 

(Marketwire)

Canada’s Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews, and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, concluded a successful meeting in Washington [last week]. Minister Toews and Secretary Napolitano meet officially twice a year to advance files that will further strengthen security at the Canada-U.S. border, while facilitating the legitimate flow of goods and travel.

“Canada and the U.S. have a long history of cooperation and consultation on security measures at our shared border,” said Minister Toews. “Building on what our countries have already accomplished, Secretary Napolitano and I met today to discuss opportunities to continue to strengthen the cooperation between our two countries.”

“The United States and Canada have a long history of collaboration to counter terrorism and transnational crime at home and abroad while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We will continue to work with our Canadian partners to ensure the security, efficiency and resiliency of the supply chains and critical infrastructure that are vital to the security and prosperity of both our nations.”

A commitment made by Minister Toews and Secretary Napolitano… will see Canada and the U.S. working more closely with international partners, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization, to enhance the security of the global supply chain-how products are moved from suppliers to customers around the globe. Read more here.
 

(Windsor Star)

Harper, Obama on the right track

Fresh from a majority win on Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is resuming border talks with the U.S. And this time, he has the opportunity to reach a quick perimeter security deal, unhampered by opposition MPs who claimed it would weaken Canadian sovereignty.

But that’s not all that’s changed. President Barack Obama has definitely tutored Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who, since the election of 2008, has considered Canada’s undefended border to be as threatening to the U.S. as the one that separates it from Mexico.

Napolitano now seems to embrace sharing information to keep the 6,400-kilometre Canada-U.S. border safe from illegal activity. She also realizes that doing so is critical to removing trade barriers, because each nation relies on the other for a strong and stable economy. Read more here.

(WBFO)

Plans to move the Peace Bridge American customs plaza over to the Canada side will not happen.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared it a “dead” deal. She responded to Western New York Congressman Brian Higgins Wednesday morning as he spoke at the House of House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee hearing.

Higgins noted that the as part of the Peace Bridge Expansion project, confusion exists as to whether the project could include pre-clearance of a shared border management strategy to locate the American customs plaza on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge.

Napolitano said they can not resolve the pre-clearance issues in Canada. But she did note that if the Peace Bridge and facilities are expanded on the U.S. side, they are fully prepared to provide the staffing and support.

Click here for audio of the exchange between Higgins & Napolitano.

(NextGov.com – Aliya Sternstein)

The Homeland Security Department has killed its beleaguered $1.1 billion program to control U.S. land borders with a virtual fence made up of surveillance tools, Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Friday, after briefing Congress on her review of the Secure Border Initiative network program.

DHS officials had encountered major cost, schedule and operational problems with the system ever since entering a development pact with Boeing Co. in 2006. The department has decided it will cease construction of SBInet as originally conceived and recompete contracts to embark on a new technology plan.

The strategy will build off currently deployed tools tailored to the terrain and population density of each border region. Apparatus will include mobile surveillance units, unmanned aircraft, thermal imaging devices and remote video surveillance systems mounted on towers. Read more here.

pstrongspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-: boldfont-family:Arial;” span style=”font-size:85%;”(Anca Gurzu — Embassy)?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /o:p/o:p/span/span/strong/ppspan class=”dropcap2″span style=”font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;”L/span/spanspan style=”font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;”ast week, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and United States Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a plan to establish a first-ever cross-border approach to critical infrastructure. It would see the two nations sharing information and managing risks in an effort to better prepare and respond to natural disasters. The two countries also announced the possibility of sharing information to combat money-laundering and terrorist financing. o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;”“Our mutual security extends beyond our borders and we must work together to mitigate threats before they reach either Canada or the US while facilitating the legitimate mobility of people and goods between us,” Mr. Toews said in a news release. o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;”“The security of the United States and Canada is uniquely linked by proximity and a long history of close collaboration between our two governments,” followed Mrs. Napolitano. o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;”But the history of close collaboration has not been that long, experts say. In the aftermath of 9/11, Canada has been mostly reacting to unilaterally-proposed security measures by the US, as opposed to truly working together, they say. o:p/o:p/span/ppspan style=”font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;”It is the language of this latest announcement and the last few months, however, that make experts optimistic about the move towards true collaboration. span style=”mso-spacerun: yes”/spanRead more /spanstrongspan style=”FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-: boldfont-family:Arial;font-size:9;” a href=”http://www.embassymag.ca/page/view/border-07-21-2010″span style=”mso-bidi-font-weight: normal”span style=”color:#0000ff;”here/span/span/a./span/strongstrongspan style=”FONT-WEIGHT: normal;font-family:’Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’;font-size:9;” o:p/o:p/span/strong/p

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Aircargo Asia)/spanbr /br /The USA-based Air Cargo Security Alliance (ACSA), comprising 300 indirect air carriers, direct shippers and customs brokers, has petitioned Janet Napolitano, head of the US Department of Homeland Security, to implement a federal cargo screening program paid for by a US$0.05 cent per pound fee on all shipments.br /br /According to Michael Whately of ACSA, the TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) as it stands will “force most small to mid-size forwarders and indirect air carriers (IAC) to face insurmountable costs and logistical hurdles before they even enter the marketplace. This will result in reduced competition and just-in-time shipping options for businesses will be severely limited. For many, the 100% screening mandate without a federal screening program operating at all American airports makes economic viability impossible.”br /br /The trade association now wants the TSA to establish and operate federal cargo screening centres at major U.S. airports and pay for it through a uniform fee.br /br /With the deadline for 100% screening 95 days away, ACSA says “only a fraction of the more than 4,000 registered IAC and shippers have joined the CCSP to date”.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Phoenix Business Journal – Mike Sunnucks)/spanbr /br /U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is putting a halt to border construction projects funded by the federal stimulus following questions about how money is being spent, according to the Associated Press.br /br /U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan criticized stimulus spending on ports of entry from Canada. He also questioned plans to spend $355 million to build new ports of entry at 22 locations along the Canadian border, saying some of those have minimal traffic and security challenges compared with sites along the Mexican border.br /br /“On average, the ports see only five vehicles per hour and yet the proposed plan is to spend an average of $16 million per facility,” said Dorgan in a statement. “It just defies common sense.” Dorgan pointed to Antler, N.D., which he said sees two trucks and 36 passenger cars per day. The Antler location is slated to be demolished and rebuilt at a cost of $14 million. “I support efforts to boost security on our northern border, but we need to do it in a way that is fiscally responsible and follows some principles of common sense,” Dorgan said. “We can do some upgrades, but we don’t need to spend tens of millions of dollars to replace the existing facilities at ports of entry that see only a few vehicles every hour. That’s just nuts.” Read more a href=”http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/09/14/daily45.html”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Adelle Loiselle — The Canadian Press)/spanbr /br /strongLaws same, enforcement techniques will be different at Canadian, Mexican borders, U.S. official says/strongbr /br /A senior U.S. official who earlier stoked concerns that Canada”s border would be treated no different than Mexico”s now says that while the law governing the crossings is the same, the techniques used to implement it will be different.br /br /U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano”s words — made in Detroit late yesterday — come less than a week before new rules kick in that require a passport or other secure document to enter the U.S.br /br /“We”re going to be using a different mix of manpower and technology between the ports of entry, for example, than we would at the southern border,” Napolitano said at a joint news conference with Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.br /br /“So, the law is the same but the techniques we use to implement that law will be differentiated because of the differences between Canada and Mexico.” Read more a href=”http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/641304″here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Bill Curry — Globe amp; Mail)/spanbr /br /It’s the American myth that just won’t die, and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano distanced herself from it before Wednesday’s visit to Ottawa, reiterating that she does not believe the Sept. 11 attackers came from Canada.br /br /“Now we know the 9/11 terrorists did not use the Canadian border,” she said Tuesday in Detroit, a month after she suggested in an interview that they did.br /br /“However, we also know that just as our economy has become globalized, so has terrorism. And it erupts in many ways, in many different facets beyond the traditional al-Qaeda episodes that we have seen in the past and attacks we have seen in the past.”br /br /Ms. Napolitano’s comments fall short of what opposition MPs want to hear from her Wednesday on Parliament Hill in her first Canadian visit as secretary: a clear statement to the U.S. audience that Canada is not a threat. Read more a href=”http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/napolitano-clarifies-sept-11-remarks/article1154454/”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Macleans.ca)br //spanbr /bBorder security is still a very sore point in Canada-U.S. relations/bbr /br /The greatest test of whether the election of President Barack Obama will really repair the strains in Canada-U.S. relations gets under way this month when the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, comes to visit. The transformation of land border security over the last eight years came to symbolize the tense relations between Ottawa and the Bush administration. The almost 9,000 km of friendly frontier, and gateway to $1.6 billion in trade per day, turned into another front in the war on terror, patrolled by now-armed guards and unmanned drones, riddled with new regulations that business complains tie up trade, and as of June 1, a passport requirement for the first time. From the Canadian point of view, it was the work largely of an overzealous American administration and Congress taking a series of unilateral actions. “The previous attitude was that any additional step that could be taken should be taken without regard for trade,” Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told Maclean’s. Like many Canadians, he hopes that will change under Obama. “Now we want to focus on security that is actually effective, and addresses real security threats—counterterrorism, the drug trade, organized crime, immigration issues—and we want to find ways to improve the flow of goods across the border.”br /br /But from the U.S. point of view, the last eight years looked rather different. The world changed on 9/11, and Americans and Canadians reacted with what Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official who worked on border issues under George W. Bush, diplomatically refers to as “a different sense of urgency.” He suspects Ottawa and Washington will find it just as difficult to resolve their differences under Obama as they did under Bush. “One of the things I’ve learned is that there is this myth that Canadians and Americans are a lot alike in how they view things like trade and terrorism,” Rosenzweig said in an interview. “And they simply are not.” Where Canadians saw U.S. unilateralism, Americans saw Canadian complacency. On both sides, there was an erosion of trust. Can it be rebuilt? “My advice to Secretary Napolitano,” says Rosenzweig, “would be to explore how much of our inability to achieve common objectives with Canada was the product of political issues relating to the Bush administration—and how much of it was fundamental.”br /br /Read more a href=”http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/05/25/borderline-breakdown/”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Public Safety Canada)/spanbr /br /During their recent meeting in Washington, D.C., Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, agreed to establish a formal mechanism of twice yearly high-level meetings to manage issues on the shared border, a process that did not previously exist. The first of these meetings will take place May 26th in Detroit, Michigan and May 27th in Ottawa.br /br /“I look forward to hosting Janet Napolitano on her first official visit to Canada as Secretary of Homeland Security, and renewing our practical problem-solving discussions following my recent trip to Washington,” said Minister Van Loan.br /br /The regular High-Level Meeting mechanism is seen as a major positive step forward for Canada, strengthening the relationship with the U.S. and creating an opportunity for both countries to smooth trade and improve security at the border.br /br /“As close neighbours, our security and trade interests are shared. The Prime Minister reminded us recently that threats to the national security of the United States also represent threats to Canada,” added Minister Van Loan. “The Secretary’s visit will allow us to advance initiatives and develop a mutual appreciation of the economic importance of smooth trade and the progress both countries have been making to improve security.”