Celadon Group, Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Russell appeared today before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. Speaking on behalf of the American Trucking Associations, Russell urged Congress to expedite programs to improve technology and infrastructure at U.S. ports of entry. Russell's Indianapolis-based truckload carrier company has more than 2,900 tractor trailers operating nationwide.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal initiatives that help motor carriers increase the safety and security of their operations implemented in close cooperation with U.S. counterparts in Canada and Mexico ensure the security and efficiency of cross-border operations, a top trucking executive testified before Congress today. But the Federal government should expedite similar endeavors that would improve the technology and infrastructure needed to further enhance the security of cross-border operations.
Speaking on behalf of the American Trucking Associations before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Steve Russell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Indianapolis truckload carrier Celadon Group, Inc., urged Congress to expedite programs that would improve the technology and infrastructure needed to augment security at U.S. ports of entry but also improve trade facilitation.
“Any successful effort for preventing the entry of terrorists through our air, sea or land borders will have to rely on the cooperation of foreign governments, in essence ‘pushing our borders out,’” Russell testified. “This means working with Canadian and Mexican government agencies and officials in developing programs to share facilities and information systems in order to capture data prior to cargo and people arriving at our points of entry.”
Russell, whose Indianapolis-based truckload carrier firm has over 2,900 tractor trailers operating nationwide, said the trucking industry considers the present security environment to be quite robust for cross-border operations along both the northern and southern borders and said such programs are heading in the right direction.
Russell urged Congress to continue supporting cross-border programs like C-TPAT and FAST; encouraged DHS to take a lead role among Federal agencies in managing point-of-entry systems and processes; and encouraged the committee to work with other congressional committees to analyze funding for improving border facilities and infrastructure.
The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.
Source: American Trucking Associations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal initiatives that help motor carriers increase the safety and security of their operations implemented in close cooperation with U.S. counterparts in Canada and Mexico ensure the security and efficiency of cross-border operations, a top trucking executive testified before Congress today. But the Federal government should expedite similar endeavors that would improve the technology and infrastructure needed to further enhance the security of cross-border operations.
Speaking on behalf of the American Trucking Associations before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Steve Russell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Indianapolis truckload carrier Celadon Group, Inc., urged Congress to expedite programs that would improve the technology and infrastructure needed to augment security at U.S. ports of entry but also improve trade facilitation.
“Any successful effort for preventing the entry of terrorists through our air, sea or land borders will have to rely on the cooperation of foreign governments, in essence ‘pushing our borders out,’” Russell testified. “This means working with Canadian and Mexican government agencies and officials in developing programs to share facilities and information systems in order to capture data prior to cargo and people arriving at our points of entry.”
Russell, whose Indianapolis-based truckload carrier firm has over 2,900 tractor trailers operating nationwide, said the trucking industry considers the present security environment to be quite robust for cross-border operations along both the northern and southern borders and said such programs are heading in the right direction.
Russell urged Congress to continue supporting cross-border programs like C-TPAT and FAST; encouraged DHS to take a lead role among Federal agencies in managing point-of-entry systems and processes; and encouraged the committee to work with other congressional committees to analyze funding for improving border facilities and infrastructure.
The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.
Source: American Trucking Associations
