Coast Guard Must Secure Terror Targets
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WASHINGTON — Defying President Bush’s threatened veto, the House yesterday overwhelmingly approved a bill making the Coast Guard enforce security zones around eight liquefied natural gas terminals and any arriving tankers –all potential terrorism targets.
The White House has complained that the requirement would divert the Coast Guard from other high-priority missions and provide an “unwarranted subsidy” for LNG owners.
The 395-7 vote margin on the $8.4 billion Coast Guard bill was well beyond the two-thirds needed to override a presidential veto. Seven Republicans voted against the measure.
After the vote, the White House praised the passage of a GOP-backed amendment to the bill that permits the Coast Guard to take into account agency, state, and local government security resources when deciding on security plans for LNG sites.
“The administration remains concerned about several key provisions in the House bill,” a White House spokesman, Trey Bohn, said. “However, the veto threat prompted members to adopt a Republican amendment which made significant changes to the bill. We will continue to work with members of Congress as this legislation moves forward.”
