The Security Industry Association (SIA) welcomes passage of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Program Authorization and Accountability Act (H.R. 4007), SIA-endorsed legislation that was adopted unanimously in the House late Tuesday.

"The security industry provides many of the innovative solutions being implemented to meet requirements under CFATS," said SIA CEO Don Erickson. "Providing a multi-year authorization and making improvements to the implementation process will help ensure that solutions to make our nation safer are more readily adopted."

Sponsored by Rep. Pat Meehan, R-Pa., chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, the bipartisan bill provides the first statutory authorization for CFATS program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

 The bill would authorize CFATS for three years while requiring certain vital chemical security goals be met within this time period, according to Meehan. The bill would allow automatic approval of alternative site security plans and permit third-party audits and inspections with the approval of the secretary of homeland security.