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Congressman for all Alaska Don Young today voted in opposition to the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007. Mr. Young had this to say about the legislation:

"I have deep reservations about this bill. Our nation’s security is a critical issue; I feel it is the exclusive responsibility of the Government of the United States to ensure the security of the American people. This responsibility should not be delegated in whole or in part to any international organization, agency, or court or to the government of any other country," said Congressman Young shortly after he voted against this bill.

"I am especially uncomfortable with the port security language this bill contains; this is primarily a political gesture without a great deal of results, and that is unfortunate. The hearings we’ve had during the last Congress on cargo screening have proven that cargo screening and port security cannot occur within our ports without total cooperation with the overseas shippers sending cargo to the United States. What is being considered in this bill is merely window dressing and will not produce results.

"This bill is not giving us any more security than we have; we are spending billions in the airports, waterways and ports of our nation. The direct result will be direct cost to the taxpayer without any security. Every product that is imported to the United States that we use will have an additional cost attached to it. This will make us non competitive with other ports in our hemisphere that are accepting cargo without the security that is being proposed in this bill. If you want true port security, then it should be done at the point of origin, and that is where we should be directing our efforts and resources. While the U.S. must support the securing of cargo containers bound for the United States, efforts to achieve a secure system must not threaten our nation’s economic viability and spawn the loss of thousands of jobs. I recommend that we go back to the hearing process and do this job right."

This bill supports placing the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) under the authority of the United Nations. The 9/11 Commission report recognized the PSI as an effective program and suggested it be expanded, however, the Commission did not recommend placing PSI under the U.N. or any other multilateral regime, nor did it suggest it needed to be authorized explicitly in international law. The PSI is a critical national security initiative – organized by the United States and involving a number of countries – that uses diplomacy, intelligence, and other counter-proliferation tools to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This bill would force the United States to seek the permission of foreign governments before attempting to prohibit illicit WMD material.  And it would provide all members of the U.N. access to the strategies, routes, and participating countries in the PSI, undermining the effectiveness of the program.