He was joined in his testimony by Carolyn Merritt, Chairwoman and CEO of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board- a unit that probes deadly accidents. She stated that there are "... serious gaps in the preparations for major chemical releases by companies, emergency responders, government authorities and the public."
A number of Democrats, led by Jon Corzine, D-N.J. have been pushing for strong, government mandated security regulations. They have been joined by responsible members of the GOP who are unwilling to hide their heads in the sand as the vulnerability remains unattended.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, has spoken on this subject at many forums. In one instance she pointed out that many plants are in heavily-populated urban areas and:
"... have little more to secure them than a fence around the perimeter... Chemical facilities are attractive both as a source of chemicals that could be stolen to build bombs, and for the release of toxic fumes into the surrounding communities..."
She has also directly addressed a slight shift in the Administration's position opposing federal legislation. Senator Collins noted, "For the first time the Administration is stating clearly before Congress that current laws are not adequate to the task of improving security of chemical plants. Federal legislation is needed." However, she still seemed to maintain a bit of skepticism as to the Administration's recent "conversion" by highlighting the fact that the Administration did not provide details on what new authority is needed, and she warned that "...the devil truly will be in the details."
It should be noted that the slight shift in position by the Administration did not take place in a vacuum or because of a sudden interest in public safety. It is more a reflection of a shift in the position of the chemical industry.
For that, one can thank individual states. As it became clear that federal action was not forthcoming, some states began to plan for their own chemical plant security laws. That approach would create an expensive, uncoordinated web of regulations and, as a result, the chemical industry has become more open to listening to proposals for one uniform set of federal regulations.
Those who prefer comedy to serious discussion about the proper role of government in ensuring citizen safety should relax. The Administration has that base covered. Consider the response Mr. Al "laissez-faire" Martinez-Fonts gave when he was asked in March 2004 (three years after 9/11 and with all the chemical plant warnings documented) about why the government had not acted on regulating security at chemical plants:
"... It was not chemical plants that were blown up..." (on 9/11).
Condoleezza Rice better watch out. There are plenty of comedians ready to replace her in this Administration.
R. J. Kovic ameripundit@yahoo.com lectures in the fields of Political Science and Law with an emphasis on comparisons on the role of the rule of law in developed and emerging democracies, advises small to medium sized companies from Eastern Europe on compliance with American laws related to worker rights and corporate responsibilities, and volunteers his time in assisting grass roots groups who wish to cooordinate their efforts with large humanitarian organizations. http://ameripundit.blogspot.comNext Page 1 | 2 | 3
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Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect,
connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.
Check out his platform at RobKall.com
He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity
He's given talks and workshops to Fortune
500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered
first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and
Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful
people on his Bottom Up Radio Show,
and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and
opinion sites, OpEdNews.com
more detailed bio:
Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, (more...)
