If you had asked me six months ago when the DRAFT Final Ruling would be issued by the Coast Guard concerning the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) I would have said, "The end of 2011 or early 2012." Now I'm not so sure.
The maritime industry is all over the place on the implementation of TWIC biometric readers. Some ports volunteered to do pilot programs, others have projects underway to install them and then there is group of ports sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens. In the report cited below it is stated that there are ports that intend to do away with their own identification card systems. I personally would not advocate for that due to the relatively low standards of TWIC and the need to control access to your facilities based on a need to be there for a business purpose.
It is the 21st Century and you would think that a biometric identification card would not be that difficult to implement. The problem is that this is a national program crossing many states and there are differing opinions as to the value of the TWIC card and the entire credentialing program.
To find out the full status you can read the recently released GAO Report: Transportation Security, Actions Needed to Address Limitations in TSA's Transportation Worker Security Threat Assessments and Growing Workload It is not a title that will set the world on fire. An alternative title might have been, Transportation Security, We've Got Problems.
I know there have been meetings back in D.C. in the last few months on TWIC. I don't know the outcomes from those meetings. My guess is that the final TWIC ruling might be delayed further. 2012 is an election year and Federal regulation has been a Republican debate topic.
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