WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, has been appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the House-Senate conference committee that will negotiate the final details of a H.R. 1, legislation to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The House version of the bill was the first bill that the new Democratic House of Representatives passed this year. It contained provisions requiring screening of 100% of air cargo shipped on passenger planes and screening and sealing of all ship containers before they reach U.S. ports. These provisions have been longstanding Markey initiatives that he has fought for over the last four years by introducing legislation and offering amendments on many occasions.

Rep. Markey said, “When the House passed H.R. 1 in January it was the first action taken by Congress since we received the bipartisan 9/11 Commission report almost three years ago to fully implement the critical recommendations of that report. As the Commission highlighted, unscreened cargo is a serious security weakness, one that I have worked to address for years. The vast majority of the 6 billion pounds of cargo carried on passenger planes every year is loaded onboard without being scanned for liquid, plastic or conventional explosives, while most of the maritime cargo containers bound for the U.S. are not scanned for nuclear bombs before being loaded onto ships. I am pleased that these provisions were included in legislation to implement the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, and I look forward to participating in the House-Senate conference to craft the final version of the bill.”

The House and Senate have both passed legislation this year to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations overlooked by the previous congressional leadership and will now work together to negotiate a final bill which both bodies will consider. Rep. Markey will be working to ensure that provisions in the House bill, such as 100% screening of air cargo on passenger planes and 100% screening of maritime cargo coming into U.S. ports from overseas are included in the final version of this legislation. He also worked to ensure that sufficient funding was included in the bill for interoperable communications so that first responders are able to communicate during emergencies, a dangerous security weakness evident on 9/11 and identified by the 9/11 Commission as an area in need of significant improvement.

“Though the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress previously blocked the cargo screening measures and other important security measures in this legislation, we are now on the verge of delivering a significant homeland security victory for the American people,” concluded Rep. Markey.