Posted:
June 12, 2008
In a letter dated June 10, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, presented several pointed questions to the secretary of the Homeland Security Department regarding equipment failures and delays in the printing and production of Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards.
"It has come to my attention that eight of the 12 machines used to make TWIC cards have been returned to the manufacturers for repairs and system upgrades," Rep. Thompson wrote. "Due to this machinery malfunction, the previous one-day timeframe for card production has increased to a ten-day time period. It is my understanding that card production will not return to normal operational capacity for several weeks.
"At this juncture, it is difficult to determine which is more astonishing—the fact that the facility producing these cards is experiencing a 66 percent machine failure rate or the fact that this machine failure rate has resulted in a ten-fold increase in the card production schedule," Rep. Thompson wrote. "As you know, over one million men and women are required to obtain TWICs prior to the April 15, 2009, deadline. Needless to say, every production delay increases the likelihood that this deadline will not be met. It would be unfortunate and unfair if the necessary activities of these employees and their respective employers are hampered due to avoidable delay in card production."
Rep. Thompson probes problems with TWIC card production
In a letter dated June 10, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, presented several pointed questions to the secretary of the Homeland Security Department regarding equipment failures and delays in the printing and production of Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards.
"It has come to my attention that eight of the 12 machines used to make TWIC cards have been returned to the manufacturers for repairs and system upgrades," Rep. Thompson wrote. "Due to this machinery malfunction, the previous one-day timeframe for card production has increased to a ten-day time period. It is my understanding that card production will not return to normal operational capacity for several weeks.
"At this juncture, it is difficult to determine which is more astonishing—the fact that the facility producing these cards is experiencing a 66 percent machine failure rate or the fact that this machine failure rate has resulted in a ten-fold increase in the card production schedule," Rep. Thompson wrote. "As you know, over one million men and women are required to obtain TWICs prior to the April 15, 2009, deadline. Needless to say, every production delay increases the likelihood that this deadline will not be met. It would be unfortunate and unfair if the necessary activities of these employees and their respective employers are hampered due to avoidable delay in card production."