Schumer Sends White House List Of Unanswered Questions That Must Be Answered About The Dubai Ports Deal (7/25/2006):
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer sent the following letter President Bush with a list of unanswered questions that must be answered about the Dubai Ports World acquisition of six major U.S. ports on the East Coast, including New York and New Jersey. This $6.8 billion deal is scheduled to be closed on March 2 and was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) last month, although the President wasnt aware of it until after the approval. Except for cargo screening functions performed by the Department of Homeland Security, the Port operator is responsible for securing cargo coming in and out of the port, the port facility itself, and the hiring of security personnel. In light of these critical functions being transferred from a private company based in Britain to a United Arab Emirates governmentowned company based in Dubai, today Schumer urged the President to answer these questions fully. Yesterday Schumer announced that he and Congressman Peter King, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, were introducing emergency legislation to suspend the Dubai port deal.
More context as reported back then by CNN:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Congress sent its first shot across President Bush's bow Wednesday [3/8/2006], as the House Appropriations Committee voted 62-2 to block a controversial deal that would allow Dubai Ports World to operate some terminals at U.S. ports.
The amendment was inserted into an emergency supplemental funding bill for military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also includes about $19 billion in disaster assistance for the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
[...]
Also Wednesday [3/8/2006], Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, introduced an amendment that would bar a company from operating in a U.S. port if the company is owned by a country that recognized the Taliban's regime in Afghanistan. The UAE is one of three countries that did so, along with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
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