Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeThursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Hastings pushes change in screening produce
By the Herald staff
Added canine teams to screen cargo, including Washington fruit, onboard passenger planes came a step closer to reality Wednesday, and Congressman Doc Hastings' office said it would ensure timely shipment of perishable produce.
Hastings announced he had secured a commitment from the chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, David Price, D-N.C., that training for the additional screening teams would be funded.
Hastings wrote an amendment to a bill that passed the House earlier this month to increase the number of canine teams by 100 or more.
Starting next year, cherries, apples, asparagus and other produce transported on passenger airplanes will need to be screened before shipment under a law passed in August 2007.
Mid-Columbia growers are concerned the screening requirements will cause harmful delays to crops being shipped on passenger airplanes, Hastings' office said, and canine teams are expected to be the most effective way to safely and quickly screen the produce.
The 9/11 Act already mandates that 50 percent of air cargo on passenger flights be screened through the Certified Cargo Screening Program. Dogs have been screening cargo at airports since 1973.
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