House sends chemical facility security bill to Obama

The House on Thursday cleared legislation by voice vote to authorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program for four years. 

It now heads to the president after the Senate passed it by unanimous consent on Wednesday.

{mosads}”We’ve taken a long look at the CFAT program to develop a straightforward, practically minded piece of legislation to improve the program overall,” said Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), the bill’s sponsor.

Meehan’s bill originally passed in the House by voice vote in July, but it had to come back for another round after the Senate amended it.

The Senate changes include requiring the Department of Homeland Security to establish a procedure for employees or contractors of chemical facilities to report violations of the program or potential safety risks.

In addition, the measure would allow the secretary of Homeland Security to shut down chemical facilities in an emergency.