DAVIS ABHORS SALE OF MAJOR U.S. PORTSFebruary 18, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis condemns the recent actions of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), run by the U.S. Treasury, to give control of six major U.S. ports to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) owned Dubai Ports World. The sale gives the United Arab Emirates control over the management at six major U.S. ports- New York, Newark, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami.

"I have grave concerns for what this sale could mean to America’s security," Davis said. "I am deeply troubled that a state owned company of the U.A.E. may be running the day to day operations in our nation’s ports, a critical component of our nation’s infrastructure."

U.S. seaports handle 2 billion tons of freight each year but only 5 percent of containers entering the country are examined on arrival. A single terrorist attack could shut down our entire economy. Container transportation systems and facilities relied on by the Department of Defense as military load-out ports would be critically impaired.

Dubai, UAE’s largest city, has been named as a key transfer point for shipments of nuclear components shipped to Iran, North Korea, and Libya by Pakistan’s nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan. The UAE is one of only 3 countries that recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

The decision to approve the $6.8 billion dollar deal was made solely by CFIUS without any congressional oversight. CFIUS consists of twelve members of the Bush Administration: the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Commerce, the Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and is chaired by Treasury Secretary John Snow.

"I call on this administration to protect our homeland. This sale is irresponsible and should infuriate every American. We are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into the War on Terror and yet we're willing to give control of strategic assets to foreign nations with terrorism records?" Two of the 9/11 hijackers were UAE nationals and the FBI claimed the money used for the attacks was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers primarily through the UAE's banking system.

Americans are entitled to national leadership that is strong on security. Davis is working on legislation to give both the House and Senate Intelligence and Homeland Security committees the authority to prevent deals like this from destroying our national security.