WELCOME TO SECURITY NATION

摘要

Half billion foreign visitors cross America's borders, land at her air-ports, and dock at her harbors each year, Imag-ine trying to weed out the criminals and terrorists while keeping track of everyone else as they vacation, conduct business, enroll in college - and try to drop out of sight once they've overstayed their visa. That's the challenge Accenture LLP took on when it landed a federal contract on June 1 that could ultimately be worth $10 billion. The Bermuda technology consulting company, with U.S. headquarters in Re-ston, Va., will design a system for high-tech passports and visas, plus a database to keep track of when and where travelers cross the border. Welcome to a high-tech Security Nation. The passport-and-visa system, which could take 10 years to perfect, is the first step in a massive push to identify and correct America's many vulnerabilities to terrorist attack. Nearly three years after September 11, the federal government is finally breaking out its checkbook. Despite a mushrooming federal deficit, the Bush Administration has booked a 10% hike in spending for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal 2005, which starts in October. That will boost its budget to $40.2 billion. And while past funding increases went largely to personnel -primarily airport screeners- most of the new money will flow to anti-terrorism tools under development by the nation's technological wizards.