Last week, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., chaired a hearing of the U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security on securing vulnerabilities at our nation’s maritime ports.
“The United States is a maritime nation and ports are essential to our way of life. Rep. Gimenez pressed Rear Admiral Wayne R. Arguin of the Coast Guard, Eric Goldstein, the Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity at CISA, and Neal Latta of the TSA about the undue influence Communist China has over U.S. ports and the Coast Guard’s inviting agents of the criminal Castro Regime to tour their Headquarter in Washington, D.C.,” Gimenez’s office noted.
Below are some of Gimenez’s comments:
“Over the past few years, I have continued to raise concern about the widespread presence of Chinese manufactured cranes at our nation’s ports. I am particularly concerned about the use of Chinese technology and equipment, as well as the port industry’s over reliance on Chinese cranes. On April 3, I joined several of my colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asking about their efforts to address vulnerabilities related to Chinese cranes. DHS is yet to respond.
“During the week of February 27, 2023, the Coast Guard, working with the State Department, scheduled facility visits for a Cuban delegation that included members of the Cuban Border Guard and the Cuban Ministry of Interior. This visit would have included a tour of the Coast Guard Headquarters here in Washington, D.C. After my colleagues and I raised concerns with this visit, the Coast Guard canceled the Headquarters portion of the tour but continued with the rest of the scheduled activity.”
Witnesses included Rear Admiral Wayne R. Arguin Jr., the Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy for the U.S. Coast Guard; Eric Goldstein, the Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and Neal Latta, the Assistant Administrator for Enrollment Services and Vetting Programs at the Transportation Security Administration.
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