Hahn Decries Security Weaknesses at Nation’s Ports

Washington, DC— On July 9, Rep. Janice Hahn (CA-44) took to the House Floor to urge her colleagues to support the GAPS Act, legislation that directs the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a comprehensive classified study of potential gaps in our nation’s port security:

Below are her floor remarks or click the video:

“Mr. Speaker:

As the representative of our nation’s busiest port complex and the co-founder and co-chair of the PORTS Caucus, I understand the unique security challenges that ports pose to our economic and national security. Ports are a crucial piece of our economy and a potential attack or disruption to trade operations could have a disastrous impact on American jobs and the economy.

 Last week, the Brookings Institute released a study highlighting troubling cyber security weakness at our nation’s ports—an all too often overlooked area of infrastructure vulnerability.

We need to do better, and finally take a comprehensive examination of the security of our nation’s ports facilities and develop a plan to address any gaps or vulnerabilities.

This is why I urge the House to support the GAPS Act, my legislation that directs the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a comprehensive classified study of potential gaps in port security and prepare a plan to address them.

After all, think tanks aren’t the only ones looking for security weaknesses at our ports.”