republic-os/legal/us/code/title-06/chapter-3/section-981a.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	6 U.S.C. § 981a	Pilot integrated scanning system	us	united_states_code	code_section	6	DOMESTIC SECURITY	3	SECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY PORT	981a	6 U.S.C. § 981a	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc06@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t6/s981a	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-06/usc06.xml	03cb3b8a5b97f0c26d50205404dc090166b3a08db33fcbbabf92d3f60c21349a	a286ebc069cd8c7d317b4084d217abe94cd2a3642b1a3e409a909d1e92452161	706df44b97266ab0a1c616abe1dd963eb3c26c9b3d28cc38cc8867c862f3788a	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

6 U.S.C. § 981a - Pilot integrated scanning system

Text

(a) Designations (1) In general Not later than 90 days after October 4, 2006, the Secretary of Homeland Security (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall designate three foreign seaports through which containers pass or are transshipped to the United States to pilot an integrated scanning system that couples nonintrusive imaging equipment and radiation detection equipment, which may be provided by the Megaports Initiative of the Department of Energy. In making designations under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider three distinct ports with unique features and differing levels of trade volume.

(2) Collaboration and cooperation The Secretary shall collaborate with the Secretary of Energy and cooperate with the private sector and host foreign government to implement the pilot program under this subsection.

(b) Implementation Not later than one year after October 4, 2006, the Secretary shall achieve a full-scale implementation of the pilot integrated screening system, which shall—

(1) scan all containers destined for the United States that transit through the terminal;

(2) electronically transmit the images and information to the container security initiative personnel in the host country and/or Customs and Border Protection personnel in the United States for evaluation and analysis;

(3) resolve every radiation alarm according to established Department procedures;

(4) utilize the information collected to enhance the Automated Targeting System or other relevant programs; and

(5) store the information for later retrieval and analysis.

(c) Evaluation The Secretary shall evaluate the pilot program in subsection (b) to determine whether such a system—

(1) has a sufficiently low false alarm rate for use in the supply chain;

(2) is capable of being deployed and operated at ports overseas, including consideration of cost, personnel, and infrastructure required to operate the system;

(3) is capable of integrating, where necessary, with existing systems;

(4) does not significantly impact trade capacity and flow of cargo at foreign or United States ports; and

(5) provides an automated notification of questionable or high-risk cargo as a trigger for further inspection by appropriately trained personnel.

(d) Report Not later than 120 days after achieving full-scale implementation under subsection (b), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of State, shall submit a report, to the appropriate congressional committees, that includes—

(1) an evaluation of the lessons derived from the pilot program implemented under this section;

(2) an analysis of the efficacy of the Automated Targeted System or other relevant programs in utilizing the images captured to examine high-risk containers;

(3) an evaluation of software that is capable of automatically identifying potential anomalies in scanned containers; and

(4) a plan and schedule to expand the integrated scanning system developed under this section to other container security initiative ports.

(e) Implementation If the Secretary determines the available technology meets the criteria outlined in subsection (c), the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of State, shall seek to secure the cooperation of foreign governments to initiate and maximize the use of such technology at foreign ports to scan all cargo bound for the United States as quickly as possible.

(Pub. L. 109–295, title V, § 558, Oct. 4, 2006, 120 Stat. 1392.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007, and not as part of the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006, also known as the SAFE Port Act, which comprises this chapter.