The House of Representatives has passed an amendment authored by Congressman Doc Hastings (WA-04) that increases the number of canine air cargo detection teams, boosting cargo security and helping ensure that perishable fruits like cherries will not be unnecessarily delayed by bureaucratic red tape.  
The amendment was cosponsored by Congressman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and passed as part of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorization bill.
“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s skies must be a high priority for Congress, but need not come at the expense of trade-dependent states like Washington,” said Hastings. “Cherries and other perishable fruits have a limited shelf-life and must be transported quickly from the family farm to the grocery store shelf. If there are not enough canine cargo screening teams available during the peak harvest period our local growers and agriculture based economy will suffer.”
The 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 requires 100 percent cargo screening on passenger airplanes to be implemented by August 2010.  
Because half of all cherries exported from the Pacific Northwest are transported on passenger aircraft, new TSA screening requirements have been an issue of great concern to cherry growers.  
The highly perishable nature of cherries make them easily damaged by screening equipment and leave them open to being ruined by even minor delays in getting to market.
“My amendment increases the number of canine screening teams by at least 100, more than doubling the number of dogs available to screen cargo at our nation’s airports.  Not only will this increase help meet the 9/11 Commission’s 100 percent requirement, but it will also help guarantee that checking each box of cherries does not unnecessarily slow exports and cost Washington growers.”
Highly-trained canine teams are one of the most effective means of screening cargo available to TSA.
In fact, canines have been successfully employed to screen airports and cargo since 1973.  
These dogs are extremely reliable, and their mobility makes them invaluable in screening all types of cargo quickly and effectively.  
They are currently the most workable screening method for highly perishable products, like produce, that can be damaged by equipment and ruined by long delays in getting to market.