WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today cast a vote to add an amendment to an appropriations bill that would attempt to stop the acquisition of contracts to manage six U.S. ports by Dubai Ports World, a company affiliated with the government of the United Arab Emirates for a period of one year.

 

"I have heard numerous concerns from Americans in Missouri and around the country that this business deal has not been thoroughly investigated.  I agree.  We cannot outsource our national security.  The commercial operations of a port are inseparable from the security operations.  We should not allow this arrangement to proceed until we are absolutely certain our port security is capable and complete," Emerson said.  "Clearly this decision is the result of a flawed process. We need to reassess this deal as well as the way we plan to handle future transactions like it."

 

Emerson is cosponsor of a legislative effort to change the approval process of similar business dealings to include relevant House and Senate subcommittees.  The bill, H.R. 4813, would trigger a 45-day congressional review when a transaction being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States includes a company owned by a foreign government.

 

“This is a process that has not been substantively revisited since September 11, 2001.  We must take this opportunity to do so now, before it results in a dangerous situation for the American people,” Emerson said.