CFATS Hearing Update – 07-30-13

The House Homeland Security Committee updated their hearing website for their CFATS hearing on Thursday. They added the witness list for the hearings. The witness list incudes three familiar faces and three new faces.

The familiar faces include:

• David Wulf, ISCD Director;

• Stephen L. Caldwell, US GAO; and

• Mr. Timothy Scott Dow Chemical

Director Wulf will make his first solo appearance before Congress; usually he has accompanied Under Secretary Rand Beers who has been temporarily been booted upstairs. Director Caldwell will present the latest GAO report. CSO Scott will present the major industry outlook on the CFATS program.

The new faces include:

• Paul Derig, J.R. Simplot Company;

• Donnie, Texas Ag Industries Association; and

• Sean Moulton, Center for Effective Government

The first two will represent agricultural interests before the panel, an industry that hasn’t had much to say publicly about CFATS since the interim final rule was adopted in 2007. Mr. Moulton will be representing the inherently safer technology viewpoint at this hearing.

The interesting question for hearing observers is whether the questions about small companies ignoring CFATS requirements will overshadow questions about the Site Security Plan implementation progress. I suspect that the two different panels will be arrayed as I’ve described them above and each panel will get questioned on the different aspects of the current CFATS situation.