Letter supporting S. 2996, the "Continuing Chemical Facilities Antiterrorism Security Act of 2010"

March 2, 2010

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman

Chairman

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Susan M. Collins
Ranking Member
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Lieberman and Ranking Member Collins:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, thanks you for holding a hearing this week to assess the security of the United States' high-risk chemical facilities and to conduct oversight of the Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

U.S. businesses that produce, use, or store chemicals add billions of dollars to the economy each year and employ hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. The Chamber supports S. 2996, the "Continuing Chemical Facilities Antiterrorism Security Act of 2010," a bipartisan bill crafted with the support of Senators Collins, Pryor, Landrieu, and Voinovich.

The bill would extend CFATS through October 2015 without making dramatic and costly interruptions to ongoing implementation efforts by business and government. The bill takes a bipartisan approach to regulating chemical security at approximately 6,000 facilities across the country. Importantly, S. 2996 does not mandate government-selected security measures (e.g., inherently safer technologies) as part of the risk- and performance-based framework for protecting the America's high-risk chemical facilities from both physical and cyber threats.

As you know, CFATS will expire at the end of this fiscal year. CFATS is both a new and positive program within the context of homeland security that should be extended. S. 2996 would strengthen the collaborative relationship that DHS and industry stakeholders have developed while creating and implementing CFATS; and the bill would give the owners and operators of high-risk chemical facilities the certainty they need to make long-term planning and investment decisions. The Chamber applauds your efforts to address America's chemical security and looks forward to continuing to work with Congress on this important issue.

Sincerely,

R. Bruce Josten

Cc: The Members of the United States Senate