CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced bipartisan legislation to extend the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, which is set to expire on July 27th. The program was created after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and ensures that facilities holding high-risk chemicals have security measures in place to reduce the risk of chemicals being stolen or weaponized by terrorists.
“Over the past several years, I have worked so that this program is both authorized and funded at levels to ensure the safety of chemical facilities across this country. By coming together in a bipartisan way, we are demonstrating the importance of our nation’s efforts to support a regulatory framework that strengthens our ability to prevent these facilities from being vulnerable to terrorists,” Senator Capito said.
BACKGROUND:
The CFATS program, which is managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), identifies and regulates chemical facilities that are vulnerable to terrorist exploitation. Facilities that are regulated by CFATS must report what chemicals they store to CISA and, if deemed high-risk, the facility then develops a plan to address three main security issues: release, theft or diversion, and sabotage. As of May 2023, CFATS covers approximately 3,200 facilities. The senators’ Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act would extend this vital anti-terrorism program for five years.
The CFATS program was created after national security experts recognized a security vulnerability among chemical facilities following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing. These facilities often store substances that can threaten the safety of our communities if deliberately misused. In fact, terrorists are more likely to use industrial and other commercially available chemicals, many of which are found in facilities across the United States, than sophisticated nerve agents such as sarin due to their widespread prevalence, relatively simple pathway to weaponization, and potential to cause serious harm.
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