Halt of CFATS work disrupts debate over program’s merit
The letter continued:
Unfortunately, problems with the Department’s efforts to implement these programs are not limited to those discussed here. As the Chairmen responsible for authorizing and funding CFATS, we are convinced the program should not continue in its present condition. While the need to secure American facilities with chemicals of concern is a critical one, the CFATS program is simply not getting the job done. … Over the course of this fiscal year, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Homeland Security Committee will continue the rigorous oversight and strict guidance needed to get CFATS on track. We intend to identify specific milestones the program must achieve in order to establish its viability. Ultimately, we would like to consider a multi-year reauthorization of CFATS — but only if it is the right program for the job.
The three committee leaders requested a series of reports from DHS to assist with oversight, specifically examining how the Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) plans to improve implementation of the program.
The reason for the fact that CFATS has technically expired on 4 October is the absence of a continuing resolution, not the skepticism of the three GOP committee chairmen, but industry officials who support CFATS say that as a result of the government shutdown, Congress itself will be to blame for further delays in improving and strengthening the program.
“Every day that Congress keeps the government closed, it is going to make it harder for Congress to then blame DHS on its lack of progress on CFATS,” Bill Allmond, vice president for government and public relations at the Society of Chemical Manufactures and Affiliates (SOCMA) told the Global Security Newswire. “The next time Congress calls DHS up to testify on why it hasn’t been quicker to implement the CFATS process, Congress is going to have to turn it back on itself and say, ‘Did we think about the implications of closing the government on the progress of implementing CFATS?’”
A Republican aide for the House Appropriations Committee, whose members have been consistently critical of the program, told the Global Security Newswire that the committee initially filed a continuing resolution which explicitly extended funding and legal authority to run the CFATS program while attempting to address the problems committee members identified in the program.
Congress’s inability so far to agree on a continuing resolution derailed the committee’s plan.
Allmond said the government shutdown creates prolonged uncertainty for the chemical industry regarding what new regulations chemical plants might have to comply with, and whether companies will have another opportunity to weigh in on possible changes.
Global Security Newswire quotes a Senate aide who said that the administration is urging chemical companies to continue complying with CFATS regulations because the administration’s interpretation is that it is not the intent of Congress to terminate the program. Continuing resolutions passed by both the House and Senate, along with fiscal 2014 appropriations bills authored by both chambers, would have extended authorization for CFATS, the aide said.
DHS spokesman Clark Stevens said in a statement that “chemical facilities should continue to comply with the requirements of CFATS, including continuing to comply with the existing and planned security measures in any approved site security plan or alternative security program.”
