WASHINGTON, D.C. — Celadon CEO Steve Russell addressed a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Homeland Security recently, appealing to the US government to expedite programs that would improve border technology and infrastructure.

He told the subcommittee that current initiatives at the border increase safety and security, however he said the US should work closely with Canadian and Mexican officials to ensure the security and efficiency of cross-border operations arent jeopardized. He was speaking on behalf of the American Trucking Associations.

Any successful effort for preventing the entry of terrorists through our air, sea or land borders will have to rely on the cooperation of foreign governments, in essence pushing our borders out, Russell testified. This means working with Canadian and Mexican government agencies and officials in developing programs to share facilities and information systems in order to capture data prior to cargo and people arriving at our points of entry.

Russell said current programs already in place are quite robust and are headed in the right direction. However, he urged Congress to continue supporting programs like C-TPAT and FAST and said the Department of Homeland Security should take a lead role in managing point-of-entry systems and processes.