Seaport ID card program faces delays

WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- A new security program designed to issue tamper-proof IDs to U.S. seaport workers is being delayed by technical glitches, a report said Monday.

The Washington Times reported the Department of Homeland Security and contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. are struggling to keep up with a timetable that envisioned having the high-tech ID cards issued to thousands of port workers, truck drivers and others by the end of last year. U.S. officials now say they hope to have the system in place by April 2009.

The program was announced in 2006 by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as a way to secure the nation's seaports and ease fears terrorists could smuggle weapons of mass destruction into the country. But, the Times said, it has been beset by delays, including long waits for people seeking to call a help desk.

"The help desk has proven to be a yet another poorly designed and managed program that is negatively impacting those individuals who comprise the valuable eyes and ears of our nation's transportation system," the newspaper reported Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., as saying.

The Transportation Security Administration said it was working with Lockheed Martin to help clear up the problems with the program's help desk.