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Schumer lobbies for federal funding for SureScan
1/18/2010
More federal funds sought for Endicott Company looking to have its baggage screening technology certified by the TSA. Senator Schumer says he is doing what he can to move this process along.
ENDICOTT -- SureScan Corp. needs more federal funding to further develop an explosive-detection system that could boost security in airports, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said.
The senator was at SureScan in Endicott on Wednesday to examine its technology, designed for use during the baggage-screening process.
SureScan has been developing the device since the company's inception in 2004, when officials said SureScan could create up to 700 jobs connected.
SureScan now has about 50 employees and expects to receive certification from the Transportation Security Administration in the next three months, said LeeAnn Levesque, the company's general manager.
But the company needs "a significant portion" of $1 billion in federal funds to pay for more research and development to keep SureScan on the "cutting edge of security technology," Schumer's office said.
Part of the delay in bringing SureScan's product to market is the lack of an administrator for the TSA, Schumer spokesman Max Young said.
The technology has the potential to accurately detect the presence of questionable liquids in checked baggage while keeping false positives low, Schumer's office said.
The exact amount of federal money required will need to be determined, Young said.
In 2008, the TSA awarded SureScan a $5.2 million contract for the optimization and delivery of the company's explosive-detection equipment.
"With a very complex and technically challenging product, the hiring and assimilation of a large number of employees was a welcomed challenge," Levesque said. "Looking forward, SureScan will move swiftly to expand its approvals outside of the U.S., which will be quickly followed by international sales."
The European Union has harmonized its approval process, she said, which will greatly accelerate SureScan's ability to sell efficiently throughout the EU.
Countries outside of the EU and the U.S. will accept either the TSA approval or the EU approval and have been calling SureScan for immediate sales opportunities, she said.
Additional Information:
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20101130397
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