[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             PORT SECURITY

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, the idea that any foreign government could 
control our ports sets off alarm bells for many Americans. And it ought 
to. Our Nation's ports are among our most critical infrastructure.
  And that is why I cannot fathom why the Bush administration would 
willingly transfer the operation of 20 U.S. ports to a company owned by 
the United Arab Emirates, a country who may be an ally today but has 
had a checkered past when it comes to supporting terrorism. In 
approving the transaction, we see once again how the administration 
conducts business behind a veil of secrecy, cutting corners, failing to 
follow the law and acting at the behest of not the American citizens 
but industry. Indeed, they only agreed to the 45-day review the law 
requires after the company suggested it. And while mid-level officials 
were signing off on this deal, the President was nominating a top DP 
World executive to serve in his administration, a blatant conflict of 
interest.
  Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that Dubai Ports World says there will 
be a firewall between the company and its U.S. ports, make no mistake, 
their employees will be operating these ports as of Thursday.
  And whether the issue is ports, the Iraq War, the wiretapping of 
American citizens, what concerns me is this Republican Congress has 
never once asked this administration the tough questions. It has to. 
Congress must not once again give in to a policy that is clearly not in 
the public interest.

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