Good afternoon, and welcome to today’s hearing: “Countering the Nuclear Threat to the Homeland: Evaluating the Deployment of Radiation Detection Technologies”.

This subcommittee is tasked with one of the most daunting challenges that confronts our society today, securing our nation from terrorists who are constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to harm us. 

Because of the nearly unimaginable consequences associated with a successful nuclear attack, there is broad agreement that the threat of nuclear terrorism must be one of our top priorities.

Last week we heard from Director Oxford on our efforts to procure radiation detection equipment, and today we will focus on where this critical technology is being deployed along our many ports of entry.  I would like to thank Mr. Oxford for taking time to come and dialogue with us again today.  I understand your schedule must be tight these days, but this subcommittee really appreciates your being here.

Last Congress our predecessor subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack, held numerous hearings to examine the areas where we were most vulnerable to nuclear attack.  I believe that we have made significant strides to close some of the existing gaps, but there is much more work ahead of us.

We must continue to focus our efforts on a three-pronged, comprehensive approach -- encompassing prevention, detection, and response -- to fully secure our nation from nuclear attack.  Clearly, intelligence is the best tool we have to prevent any terrorist attack, including a nuclear one. But as we all know, intelligence is not always reliable, so we must ensure that we have other robust tools at our disposal.

We have all heard the most likely scenario, that a terrorist could build a crude nuclear device abroad and then attempt to smuggle it into our country.  We must continue to focus our efforts on securing nuclear material abroad, but we also must deploy the best available detection technology at every port of entry into this country.

Our radiation portal monitors are our last, best chance to prevent catastrophic nuclear or radiological attack.  Over 90% of the world’s trade moves in cargo containers, with 20 million containers arriving at U.S ports of entry annually.  This highlights just how important it is that we have adequate detection devices at all of our seaports and borders.  While we have done a good job of deploying this life-saving technology at our most heavily trafficked points of entry, we must work to deploy it along every entry point, even those less populated.

I was happy to see that the supplemental appropriations bill to be considered this week includes $100 million for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to be used for up to 1,000 additional personnel for this mission.

The bill also includes $400 million for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) to continue to acquire and deploy radiation portal monitors.  

So far you have made good progress.  As of February 2007, Radiation Portal Monitors (RPM) were scanning 100% of all U.S. mail, 89% of all cargo entering through U.S. seaports, 96% of cargo at the Southern border and 91% at the Northern border, with expected increases to 97% at seaports and 99% at the Southern border by the end of FY07.

In order to scan this much cargo, roughly 1,000 RPMs have been deployed.  Future deployments designed to scan 100% of all conveyances will require an additional 1,500 – 2,000 units over a deployment schedule through FY13.

I’d like to make sure that current and future appropriations will give you the resources you need in personnel and equipment to complete this important mission.  I would also like to hear from our witnesses about where this technology will be deployed in the future, particularly in some of the less populated areas along the Northern Border. 

We must also ensure that CBP and DNDO are working together effectively on this mission.  These two agencies must continue to partner and collaborate on how best to deploy this life-saving technology, and I look forward to hearing from Mr. Ahern and Mr. Oxford on how they are working towards this end. 

I thank both of our witnesses for being here and I look forward to our discussion of these issues.