Boxer: Bush Skimping on Security

Sen. Barbara Boxer on Saturday gave a prelude of the battle over domestic security spending certain to erupt when Congress returns from recess next month.

"They're soft on homeland defense," said Boxer during an early afternoon news conference, speaking of Bush administration officials. "And as a result we scare people instead of protecting them. And I'm sick of it."

Airport security looms as a particularly potent political issue, with the recent unraveling of the alleged terrorist plot to use liquid explosives to destroy planes bound for the United States, including California.

With the control of Congress at stake in the Nov. 7 elections, Democrats and Republicans are aggressively debating the issues of greatest angst to voters.

Democrats have begun assailing Republicans for what they characterize as a slow embrace of technologies that would enhance airport security.

For example, a Boxer spokeswoman said that 10 years ago, liquid explosives were identified as a potential terrorist tool on commercial flights, but she said little effort has since been expended to develop explosives screening technology.

Boxer visited SFO Saturday for a security briefing and to study a pilot project in development at the airport to screen commercial cargo for explosives. SFO is the sole U.S. airport to test the effectiveness of existing technology for screening air cargo.

The $15 million project is led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The objective of the SFO pilot project is to develop a model that would allow at least 60 percent of commercial cargo to undergo screening, said Michael McCarron, an SFO spokesman.

Currently, commercial cargo is only randomly screened, using a physical examination, McCarron said.

The disparity between passenger and cargo screening struck Boxer as not only ironic, but a glaring vulnerability. "While women are giving up their lipstick gel, the cargo is going on the plane unscreened," she said.

Boxer also expressed frustration that U.S. commercial jets aren't yet protected from shoulder-fired missiles. She joined other Democratic politicians in faulting the war in Iraq for draining resources from domestic security.

"We're spending $8 billion a month in Iraq," Boxer said. "It will cost $1 million to protect a plane from a shoulder-fired missile." She added that 70 terrorist organizations are listed as having access to these weapons.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, in an Aug. 16 press briefing, countered that Democrats are attempting to politicize a bipartisan concern.

Addressing criticism that the Bush administration is skimping on airport security technology, Snow responded: "It's simply not true. The administration has devoted considerable resources. What they ought to be doing is saying, 'Good, let's continue to work together to make it better.'

"I understand that it's a political year," Snow said. "What I would suggest is (to) please come up with a credible, specific proposal upon which people can act. We are all for doing everything we can to make the homeland more secure."

Until cargo screening technology becomes available, Boxer was adamant that airliners should be equipped with blast-resistant cargo containers.

"The 9/11 Commission concluded that the lack of cargo screening "was a big hole in our security," Boxer said. "They said in their report that at the minimum, cargo should be in a blast-resistant container. And we need to do this."

Boxer said Kevlar, a material manufactured by DuPont Corp. that is five time stronger than steel, is a leading candidate for mass producing these cargo containers.

When she returns to Washington, D.C., Boxer vowed to introduce legislation to require commercial planes to store cargo in blast-resistant containers.

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