The Securing America Act of 2001 was not included in the House of Representatives’ economic stimulus bill, H.R. 3090. There are several reasons this happened, foremost among them is that the committee chair, Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA) wanted to pass a “clean bill,” meaning a bill devoid of amendments. It is likely that the bill, otherwise known as H.R. 2970, will be submitted again at the beginning of the next session.
In the meantime, there is a Senate sponsor, Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK), who plans to introduce a clone of the bill with the addition of some provisions for such physical security measures as wedges, bollards and barriers. The Security Industry Association (SIA) will contact everyone already on the current H.R. 2970 E-mail list with information on how to contact their Senators for support once the bill is introduced.
In addition to the possibilities that the bill could be introduced as an amendment in the House and as a standalone bill in the Senate, the measure, if defeated in both those forms, could be introduced during the House’s next session as a standalone bill. The legislation is said to have bipartisan support, including endorsement from both Senators Daschle and Lott. For more information on the bill, visit http://www.siaonline.org.