Clinton questions Bush homeland security priorities
Former President Bill Clinton raised the issue of port security during his speech Monday at the Democratic National Convention, saying Democratic efforts in Congress to double the number of container inspections for weapons of mass destruction were blocked by President Bush and the Republican leadership more interested in preserving tax cuts for the wealthy.
“The $1 billion cost would have been paid for by reducing the tax cut of 200,000 millionaires by $5,000 each. Almost all 200,000 of us would have been glad to pay $5,000 to make the nearly 300 million Americans safer,” Clinton said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is raising inspection levels by targeting the most suspicious shipments, but some calls in Congress would set fixed quotas on inspection levels, something industry worries would delay shipments and harm trade.