[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5441-S5442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              TRANSEA ACT

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, our trade policy is fundamentally flawed. 
Years of wrongheaded trade pacts have sent millions of jobs overseas, 
devastated our communities, and opened our Nation too often to serious 
homeland security concerns.
  When we open our borders to trade, as we should, we open them to 
national security threats. Congress must assure the American people we 
have done everything within our power to protect their safety and their 
health and their welfare and to promote fair trade.
  It is estimated that less than 10 percent of foreign cargo is 
inspected before entering our country. We must both ensure that our 
ports are operated securely and with clear lines of accountability, 
unlike the deal to transfer operation of six U.S. ports to a state-
owned company controlled by the United Arab Emirates that this 
administration approved just last year.
  The decision to allow a UAE-controlled company to run our ports had 
significant national security implications. The UAE was, and still may 
be, a financial and travel outlet for known terrorists. It was not 
until leaders in both parties in the Senate and in the House of 
Representatives called attention to this enormous blunder that this 
deal was stopped.
  It is imperative Congress take steps to ensure our homeland security 
needs are secured every bit as much as our economic well-being.
  Today, I am introducing, with Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, 
the Trade-Related American National Security Enhancement and 
Accountability, TRANSEA, Act.
  This act requires the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, in collaboration with the Departments of State, 
Homeland Security, and Justice, to submit a report to Congress 
detailing the national security considerations of proposed trade 
agreements prior to commencing and after concluding those trade 
negotiations.
  The bill also requires future trade agreements negotiated by the 
administration to include a national security waiver that allows the 
President to suspend any terms of the agreement should it be required 
in the interests of U.S. national security.

[[Page S5442]]

  Lastly, as a final safeguard, the legislation creates a new 
Congressional Executive Commission on Trade Security, requiring the 
appointment of Commissioners by both political parties in both Chambers 
of Congress.
  The Commissioners will be charged with annually certifying that the 
terms of the free-trade agreement do not pose a threat to our Nation's 
national security interests. Should the Commission find that compliance 
with the agreement would pose a threat, the President will be obligated 
to exercise his or her waiver to the extent necessary to ensure the 
safety and the security of the United States of America.
  In a post-9/11 world, U.S. economic policy can simply no longer be 
viewed in the narrow scopes of bottom lines and profit margins. 
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said, in 2006:

       We have to balance the paramount urgency of security 
     against the fact that we still want to have a robust global 
     trading system.

  We can do both. It is the responsibility of our Government to ensure 
that while opening markets for our exporters, as we should, our first 
priority remains the safety and the security of the American people.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Georgia is recognized.

                          ____________________