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**did anyone really think the DHS was about more "security"? **
WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- Senate and GAO critics have blasted the DHS for failing to meet its goals on improving cargo container security.
The Department of Homeland Security's primary cargo security program has not yet been proven to target high-risk containers and has missed multiple deadlines for improvements, despite millions of dollars spent on it and several audits, government investigators say.
Senate and Government Accountability Office investigators are calling for the DHS to verify and improve the effectiveness of the Automated Targeting System, saying the risk is too great that a weapon of mass destruction or other contraband might be smuggled into the United States via an ocean-bound cargo container, CongressDaily reported Wednesday.
Shortfalls in the system undermine the agency's claim that it is identifying all high-risk cargo, investigators say. The shortfalls also raise doubt about the effectiveness of other critical Homeland Security Department programs, such as the Container Security Initiative, which places U.S. Customs agents at foreign ports, and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, through which private shipping companies voluntarily agree to improve the security of their supply chains, CongressDaily said.
A recently released GAO report disclosed that Customs and Border Protection has missed multiple deadlines and has not put key controls in place to provide "a reasonable assurance" that ATS is effective. "Because this program is key to our nation's cargo container security inspection program, these issues have to be resolved as soon as possible," said Richard Stana, GAO's director of homeland security and justice issues.
Stana said the Automated Targeting System was used to help Container Security Initiative ports determine which cargo to inspect, and helps determine benefits for C-TPAT participants. "C-TPAT and CSI are very heavily dependent on ATS working properly," he said.
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