As Arlie Porter reported in Saturday's Post and Courier, that funding, announced Friday by Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., includes approximately $9 million for the renovation of a Project Seahawk task force command center, where port officials will work with federal, state and local law-enforcement authorities, pooling resources and information to bolster security. Another $4 million will be used to evaluate port equipment that screens cargo for various threats, including radioactive materials and chemical and biological weapons.

The legislation mandating the funding already has been approved by Congress, and President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law soon. The task force command center is obviously a prudent innovation that will allow the U.S. Customs Service, the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, local law enforcement and port officials to work together. This should enhance protections against terrorism not only in Charleston, the nation's No. 4 container port, but improve these agencies' abilities to counter this menace in the nation's other ports.

The testing of existing and new devices and techniques for finding dangerous weapons and materials within cargo entering the port also should strengthen America's defenses against terrorism. State Ports Authority Board Chairman Whitemarsh Smith put this vital task in plain terms: "We're a major seaport on the East Coast, and anything we do that puts us ahead in safety and security people should favor. If we're going to live with terrorism in the future, we need to monitor our ports."

That monitoring process in U.S. ports must be intensified, as Congress recognized in passing the Maritime Security Act three months ago. More than 16 million containers pass through America's 301 ports annually. Only a small percentage of those containers are inspected for potential terrorist cargo.

That percentage must rise. So must our guard in America's ports. This won't be a cheap mission. However, a failure to meet this challenge will likely trigger tragic costs that transcend monetary considerations.

The $13 million in funding for improved port security initiatives in Charleston is a good start -- but it's only a start. Washington must keep investing the necessary money, and taking the necessary measures, to protect our ports against terrorism.