The next priority in improving U.S. air safety is the screening of air cargo, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said last week.
"We are aware of that deficiency with regard to the inspection of cargo," Ridge said in a speech to the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. "We focused on the baggage, we focused on the passengers, and now we're beginning to focus on the cargo."
Presently, only about one-fifth of cargo boarded onto commercial planes is screened, Democratic Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts said, expressing concern that there was no immediate plan to correct the problem.
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