Transportation Worker Identification Credential: Card Reader Pilot Results Are Unreliable; Security Benefits Should Be Reassessed Page: 2 of 12
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Chairman Mica, Ranking Member Connolly, and Members of the
Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss our work examining the
Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Worker
Identification Credential (TWIC) program. Ports, waterways, and vessels
handle billions of dollars in cargo annually, and an attack on our nation's
maritime transportation system could have serious consequences.
Maritime workers, including longshoremen, mechanics, truck drivers, and
merchant mariners, access secure areas of the nation's estimated 16,400
maritime-related transportation facilities and vessels, such as cargo
container and cruise ship terminals, each day while performing their jobs.1
The TWIC program is intended to provide a tamper-resistant biometric
credential2 to maritime workers who require unescorted access to secure
areas of facilities and vessels regulated under the Maritime
Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA).3 TWIC is to enhance the
ability of MTSA-regulated facility and vessel owners and operators to
control access to their facilities and verify workers' identities. Under
current statute and regulation, maritime workers requiring unescorted
access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated facilities or vessels are
required to obtain a TWIC,4 and facility and vessel operators are required
by regulation to visually inspect each worker's TWIC before granting
unescorted access.5 Prior to being granted a TWIC, maritime workers are
1For the purposes of this statement, the term "maritime-related transportation facilities"
refers to seaports, inland ports, offshore facilities, and facilities located on the grounds of
ports.
2A biometric access control system consists of technology that determines an individual's
identity by detecting and matching unique physical or behavioral characteristics, such as
fingerprint or voice patterns, as a means of verifying personal identity.
3Pub. L. No. 107-295,116 Stat. 2064. According to Coast Guard regulations, a secure
area is an area that has security measures in place for access control. 33 C.F.R.
101.105. For most maritime facilities, the secure area is generally any place inside the
outermost access control point. For a vessel or outer continental shelf facility, such as
offshore petroleum or gas production facilities, the secure area is generally the whole
vessel or facility. A restricted area is a part of a secure area that needs more limited
access and higher security. Under Coast Guard regulations, an owner/operator must
designate certain specified types of areas as restricted. For example, storage areas for
cargo are restricted areas under Coast Guard regulations. 33 C.F.R. 105.260(b)(7).
446 U.S.C. 70105(a); 33 C.F.R. 101.514.
533 C.F.R. 104.265(c), 105.255(c).GAO-13-610T
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Transportation Worker Identification Credential: Card Reader Pilot Results Are Unreliable; Security Benefits Should Be Reassessed, text, May 9, 2013; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc302759/m1/2/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.