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June 12, 2002 9:45 AM, EDT

The House passed port security legislation June 4 that would require the government to develop an identification and screening system for containerized cargo and require truckers operating in secure port areas to undergo background checks and carry identification cards.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the House Transportation Committee chairman, called the bill “one of the most important pieces of legislation the House [will] consider this year” because of the vulnerability of ports.

The legislation must be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the Senate last December, which would guarantee $383 million in grants and up to $3.3 billion in loans to protect ports.

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