WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI), Congressman John Dingell (D-MI), and thirteen members of the Michigan Congressional Delegation today sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of both the Senate and House Subcommittees on Homeland Security urging them to keep two important provisions for the fight to stop Canadian trash in the final Fiscal Year 2007 (FY 07) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Bill. The two measures were included in the Senate-passed FY07 DHS Appropriations Bill. A joint House-Senate Conference Committee will convene in the coming weeks to work out the differences between the two appropriations bills.

“We urge the Conference Committee to keep two important provisions for the security of our country that are included in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill,” said the Members of Congress in the letter. “The provisions provide important protections against potentially dangerous shipments of municipal solid waste that arrive via the hundreds of trash trucks that enter Michigan every day from Canada.”

The first provision, authored by Stabenow, would direct U.S. Customs and Border Control to charge a $420 fee per truck to Canadian trash shipping companies. The new fees would require the Canadian companies to cover the cost of adequately inspecting the trucks for hazardous materials and other threats. The second measure, authored by Levin, would require the DHS to stop trash trucks from entering the U.S. if the screening of the trucks was not comparable to the screening of other commercial vehicles crossing the border.

The full text of the letter follows:

July 28, 2006

Dear Chairmen Gregg and Rogers and Ranking Members Byrd and Sabo:

We urge the Conference Committee to keep two important provisions for the security of our country that are included in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The provisions provide important protections against potentially dangerous shipments of municipal solid waste that arrive via the hundreds of trash trucks that enter Michigan, New York, and Washington every day from Canada. (On a daily basis, about 350 trash trucks enter into Michigan, 20 trash trucks enter into New York, and 10 cross the border into Washington State.)

The first provision gives the United States Custom and Border Protection the ability to charge inspection fees to Canadian trash shipping companies to cover the cost of increased inspections for trash containers. According to the report released by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General (IG) in February 2006, current trash truck screening and inspections are insufficient to ensure security. Unlike traditional cargo containers, trash trucks contain extremely densely compacted material that cannot be adequately screened, and that cannot be traced to its origin.

The only way to know what trash trucks contain is to conduct physical inspections of the contents. According to the IG, physical inspections are time consuming and require additional Customs agents. Allowing Customs to charge inspection fees will ensure that trash trucks are properly inspected without forcing American taxpayers to shoulder the burden of the additional cost.

It is our understanding that inspection fees are legal under the General Agreement on Trade Tariffs, which allows us to charge a fee for a service, provided the fees do not exceed the cost of the service provided.

The second provision gives Customs and Border Protection 90 days to assess and report to Congress whether or not the screening of municipal solid waste is comparable to its screening of other items of commerce entering the United States. The report would also identify actions the Bureau would take to achieve the same level of effectiveness in the screening of municipal solid waste, if in fact inadequacies are found. The Bureau would then be given 180 days to implement these changes. If the changes are not fully implemented, municipal solid waste trucks would not be allowed to enter the United States.

Thank you for your attention to this issue, which is critically important to Michigan.

Sincerely,

Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI), and U.S. Representatives John Dingell (D-MI), Sander Levin (D-MI), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), John Conyers (D-MI), Fred Upton (R-MI), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Mike Rogers (R-MI), Dave Camp (R-MI), Candice Miller (R-MI), and Joe Schwartz (R-MI).