[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 30 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     STUDY OF SECURITY AT OUR PORTS

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, just this past week I held a 
press conference at the port in Houston, Texas, the Houston Port 
Authority, discussing the overall issue of comprehensive security at 
the Nation's ports. I want to remind the administration that even if 
you are operating at the ports, you are also privy to security.
  So I rise today to comment on the so-called brokered deal that 
suggests that we are now going to allow an American entity to operate 
the particular purchases that are being made by Dubai Ports. I started 
out this week by saying this is not to stigmatize the Mideast or the 
Arab world, it is to question our confidence and commitment to security 
at our ports.
  I question this deal. I would like to see how transparent it is. I 
want a complete transparency or a firewall between any foreign entity 
and the security of the Nation's ports. It is crucial that we do a 
study and assessment of how secure our ports are, and I will introduce 
legislation next week that calls for immediately an assessment of the 
Nation's ports and how secure they are.

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