Congressional Hearings – Week of 10-06-13

With the government heading into its second week of fiscal fiasco the congress continues to schedule a variety of non-funding hearings. Last week most of those scheduled were canceled, probably due to inadequate staff support (staff pay is affected by the shut-down). This week we still see a fair number of scheduled hearings, four of which may be of specific interest to the chemical safety-security and cybersecurity communities. They include a second attempt at a TWIC markup, two transportation hearings and a terrorism hearing.

TWIC Markup

The Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a markup hearing on Wednesday that will address HR 3141, the Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act. It appears that an amendment in the form of a substitute may be offered. A markup hearing last week that included this bill was postponed; no guarantees on this one.

Transportation Hearings

The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday that will look at Maritime Transportation Regulations: Impacts on Safety, Security, Jobs and the Environment, Part 2. There is no witness list available so there is no telling exactly what might be included; potential topics of interest could include TWIC and hazmat regulations.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s special Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation will hold a hearing on Thursday looking at “Funding the Nation’s Freight System”. Taxes and fees and how they get allocated are always a concern. No witness list is available for this hearing.

Terrorism

The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday looking at “From al-Shabaab to al-Nusra: How Westerners Joining Terror Groups Overseas Affect the Homeland”. No witness list is available for this hearing either. I expect generic comments from non-government experts that will say operational experience will make returning fighters more of a threat.