WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security this March will begin requiring 750,000 U.S. port and maritime workers to carry identification cards imprinted with their bio metric fingerprints, despite delays in developing devices to read them.
The agency announced Wednesday the start of the new program, under which workers will undergo extensive background checks to obtain the cards to gain unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. Installation of the card readers, however, appears to be more than a year away.
The Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard decided that more research was needed on technology for the card readers, which must be durable enough to withstand salt-water environments and able to scan cards and fingers without direct contact, Coast Guard spokeswoman Angela McArdle said. The agencies said a separate rule covering the readers would be proposed later this year.
In the interim, McArdle said, the Coast Guard will conduct spot checks with hand-held scanners to verify the identity of cardholders.
With the final rule posted on the TSA's Web site on New Year's Day, the agency and the Coast Guard called it "imperative" to go forward, despite the delays, "to improve the security of our nation's vessels and port facilities."
ADVERTISEMENT
McArdle said the agencies "can still take advantage of the screening and the background checks, so we know the backgrounds of the people who are getting these cards."
Under the regulation, applicants for the new ID card will undergo a comprehensive check of their criminal histories, immigration status and whether their names show up on TSA's terrorist watch lists.
The rule lays out what crimes or terrorism-related concerns will disqualify applicants for the new ID card. For example, money laundering is listed as a disqualifier because it is among "crimes of dishonesty and fraud and can be a means of funding terrorism," while welfare fraud and passing bad checks won't preclude issuance of the credential.
Fees for the cards, known as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, will range from $107 to $159, with applicants getting discounts. The card, which also will carry a digital photo of each worker, will be valid for five years.
McArdle said maritime workers will be required to sign up to get the cards on a rolling basis, starting at the most critical ports, with all workers scheduled to be enrolled within 20 months.
