Congressional Delegation Oppose Port Deal
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22- Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation cite security concerns as the reason for opposing a pending sale of a British port operating company to a United Arab Emirates corporation.
The Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Navigation Company, which currently operates ports across the country, including in New York, New Orleans and Baltimore, would be sold to Dubai Ports World, a state-controlled corporation in Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates.
Democrats and Republicans have raised questions about the sale, but President Bush has defended it and has said he would veto any legislation that blocks the deal.
In a statement on Tuesday, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said “a veto isn’t a solution.”
“Four and a half years after 9/11, our ports are still extremely vulnerable,” Mr. Kennedy said. “We can’t risk contracting out our national security — we need to get this right.”
Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., expressed concern about the sale in a letter sent to Secretary of the Treasury John Snow Wednesday. Snow is chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which approved the sale. The committee, composed of representatives of 12 government agencies and departments, can block a sale for national security reasons.
The port sale is just one of the many poor decisions the Bush administration has made, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, said in a statement.
“Congress must-finally-begin to conduct some serious oversight of the Bush Administration,” Mr. McGovern said. “I’m pleased to see that Republican leaders like Speaker [Dennis] Hastert and Majority Leader [Bill] Frist have supported additional congressional review. It’s about time.”
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said in a statement he would support legislation blocking the sale because he is concerned with “outsourcing our homeland security duties to foreign countries.”
“This is not a partisan issue. It is a national security issue,” Mr. Neal said. “Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress agree that this questionable transaction needs to be examined more thoroughly, and that is why I support congressional hearings to fully investigate this contract.”
In a statement released by his office, Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Lawrence, said that two of the terrorists involved in the Sept.11, 2001, attacks were from the United Arab Emirates.
“We need to investigate this fully and make sure that it doesn’t undermine our national security,” Mr. Meehan said. “It makes no sense to have a foreign country controlling our ports.”
Steven Broderick, press secretary to U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Hyannis, said that “no members of Congress have objection to a foreign company operating in the United States.”
“Where most members of Congress, including Mr. Delahunt, have some reservations is that this isn’t a foreign-owned company,” Mr. Broderick said. “This group is an agent of the United Arab Emirates, and that government has been less than helpful in the war on terror.”
U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, could not be reached for comment.
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