Bipartisan Group of Senators to intervene in ports deal

[kpete]

Senators move to intervene in ports deal
Bipartisan group wants final decision in hands of Congress


WASHINGTON - The United Arab Emirates company at the center of the U.S. ports controversy volunteered to postpone its management of operations at six major seaports, but eight Republican and Democratic senators said Friday they plan to push emergency legislation next week to require congressional approval of the contract.

The legislation would:

Require that President Bush place a stay on Dubai Ports World's management of the ports, which had been handled by London-based P&O ports, a company recently acquired by Dubai Port World.

Require the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to begin a 45-day investigation on the port deal's potential impact on national security.

Require Homeland Security and the Treasury to prepare a report and brief members of Congress on their findings.
Upon receiving the report, Congress would have the authority to disapprove the management contract within 30 days.

The legislation was outlined in a statement by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who said he was being joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Norm Coleman and Olympia Snowe, and Democrats Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid and Robert Menendez.

Schumer and other Democrats dismissed Dubai Ports World’s move to delay the management transfer.

“A simple cooling-off period will not allay our concerns,” he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11540632/

[autorank]

1. Don't "cool off, KILL THE DEAL. Kill the deal now. Stand up or show

what you really are Senators.

DU.01/120/06 There is no argument, no colling off, no study. There is no reconsideration. No possibility of a change.

THIS DEAL IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE, PERIOD.

WHAT PART OF THAT DON'T THEY GET.