At It Again: Senate Mulls Chemical Plant Security Regulations

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is expected to issue a final copy of the legislation shortly. Spokeswoman Jen Burita said it would "impose tough new standards on chemical facilities to address the threat and consequences of a terrorist attack."

Richard A. Falkenrath, a former deputy homeland security adviser at the White House, said the legislation "allows us to move forward on the security front, where there's a huge mass casualty vulnerability."

Falkenrath, now at the Brookings Institute think tank, has been critical of the Bush administration's efforts to strengthen security at chemical plants - a policy he helped formulate until he left the White House last year.