The chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee want the General Accounting Office to study port security efforts, which they say are lacking, CongressDaily reported.

Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-AZ, and ranking member Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-SC, said the administration had failed to address the port security mandates outlined in the Maritime Transportation Security Act, which became law last year and created the nation's first maritime security guidelines.

Hollings said that while officials could track every airplane, they could not track large tankers — many of which carry hazardous cargo through populated areas. He has also pressed the administration for more money to address port security and meet the new MTSA mandates. Hollings wants a tracking system up and running as soon as possible, his spokesman said.

"The events of September 11, 2001, demonstrated how vulnerable the most everyday aspects of our transportation system and commerce can be to acts of terrorism," the senators said in a May 12 letter to GAO released last week. "Yet our ports remain exposed and susceptible to acts of terrorism that could cause a large loss of life and economic disruption."

McCain and Hollings said they were concerned that the Transportation and Homeland Security departments were not effectively implementing the MTSA requirements. And there have been problems in coordinating efforts among federal agencies both here and abroad.

The Coast Guard estimates it will take more than $6.6 billion over the next 10 years for private port facilities alone to meet the baseline mandates in the new federal port security laws. The administration has awarded less than $500 million over the last two years, prompting Hollings to charge that "they just aren't taking this issue seriously."

Hollings and McCain asked GAO to examine the administration's original port vulnerability assessments and how it estimated the costs for addressing security deficiencies. They also asked GAO to come up with recommendations on developing new programs called for in the MTSA such as the Sea Marshal program, Automated Vessel Identification System, maritime intelligence system requirements, transportation worker identification cards, and requirements to evaluate and certify secure systems of international transportation.

Earlier this week, the Homeland Security Department awarded $75 million to high-threat ports. The money came from the fiscal 2003 supplemental appropriations bill signed into law last month. In addition, $35 million is set aside for the radiological defense of the New York/Newark and Charleston, SC, ports.

While Hollings applauded the awards, he added, "We cannot lose sight of the fact that the nation's port security efforts remain underfunded."