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TWIC Program Costs Top $61 Million; Just 4,000 Cards May 18, 2006 A program started in 2002 to put smart card identification credentials in the hands of U.S. transportation workers may finally come to fruition. A pilot of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program originally called for 75,000 smart cards at a cost of $12.3 million, but turned into a $22.8 million pilot with about 4,000 cards used at 26 test sites. Individuals, such as longshoremen, truck drivers, rail workers and merchant seamen, would have to carry the card for unescorted access to secure areas. They would be subject to background checks. Testifying this week before a U.S. Senate Commerce committee, Michael Jackson, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the process of issuing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential would start before the end of the year. Jackson said overall about $61 million has been spent on the program, with another $4.6 million budgeted for this year. Senators did not press him for a breakdown of that $61 million figure. Eventually, about 750,000 transportation workers will have a TWIC card, TSA says. The credential will be valid for five years. The cards would cost $139. TSA expects the program to be paid for by user fees. The TWIC card would carry a digital photo on the chip, as well as other identifying information. “We’re going to make this a priority,” Jackson told the committee. The Senate hearing followed a recent New York Times article that suggested some delays in the TWIC program stemmed from efforts by U.S. Representative Harold Rogers to ensure the program brought contracts to his Kentucky district. In fact, TWIC card production could take place in the home district of the influential Republican congressman. The Times article also quoted industry executives who complained about Rogers’ efforts to amend the 2006 appropriations bill to give responsibility for the worker background checks to the American Association of Airport Executives. The article continues to say that the AAAE chose Daon, an Ireland-based biometrics company, as its partner, leading some biometric competitors to complain that Daon effectively would become the only provider of biometric technology to the transportation worker program. Jim Miller, chairman and CEO of U.S.-based biometric company ImageWare Systems, saw the deal as a strike against a fair playing field. “We were taken aback,” Miller said about the original legislation in an interview with Card Technology. Since then, the TSA said it was opening the process, which delighted many in the industry. “It’s very gratifying that the TSA made the announcement to move forward to full and open competition for all aspects of the TWIC program,” says Walter Hamilton, chairman of the International Biometric Association, an industry group. (2006-05-18) |
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