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Washington, Nov 6 - Today, Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) offered an amendment to the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 with Rep. Ben Lujan (NM-3) that would require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to create and report a plan of precaution and prevention to accompany normal campus procedures, instead of subjecting academic laboratory facilities to the same regulations as large commercial facilities. The amendment was accepted into the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act, which passed by a vote of 230-193.

“As a scientist, I understand that there is a big difference between an academic laboratory, which contains relatively small amounts of chemicals for student use, and a commercial laboratory facility, which routinely have large amounts of chemicals on hand,” said Foster. “Universities do not have the need or the budget to implement the same security protocols as are required of commercial facilities, and I am pleased that my amendment was accepted so that academic institutions are able to implement security procedures that meet their needs but still keep our students and communities safe.”

The Foster/Lujan amendment would direct the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to establish, as appropriate, separate standards, protocols and procedures for security vulnerability assessments and site security plans for covered chemical facilities that are also academic laboratories.

“During my years as a researcher at Fermilab, I witnessed firsthand the costs and burdens from the misapplication of regulations intended for national security laboratories to the far safer academic research at laboratories like Fermilab,” said Foster. “I am pleased to work with my colleague from New Mexico, Representative Lujan, to implement a commonsense clarification to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act.”

This amendment is supported by the American Council on Education, the American Association of Universities, and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities.