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Democrats to Push for More Port Security Money NewsMax.com Wires WASHINGTON -- Democrats plan to push for more port security money while criticizing Republicans on the issue as the House debates a $91 billion measure for wars and hurricane recovery. "If the Republicans are now deciding to get on board, then we welcome them, because for so long they have been on a sinking ship, basically saying that our ports are secure," said Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, lead Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. Republicans dismissed the criticism, arguing that they have increased port security money over the last few years beyond what the Bush administration has requested. "What you saw was as much money as we could spend without just throwing money at the problem, hoping something good would happen," said House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, suggesting that's the Democrats' approach. In both the House and Senate, Democrats have long pushed for more money for ports only to have the Republican-controlled House reject their efforts, largely along party lines. Story Continues Below
House Democrats are making another attempt this week now that the issue is fresh in lawmakers' minds because of a Dubai-owned company's now-aborted plans to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports. They will try to attach legislation boosting money for cargo inspections and other security measures at U.S. ports to the $91 billion bill that pays for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and rebuilding efforts in the Hurricane Katrina-battered Gulf Coast. The bill also contains a provision that would block DP World from managing port terminals in the United States even though the Dubai-owned company has promised to surrender its U.S. port operations. Republicans planned a vote sometime this week to put the full House on record objecting to DP World's entry into American port operations. "Congress wants to make it clear that we think that this should not happen and we want to ensure that it won't happen," Boehner said. "The House will vote this week to make it clear that it is dead." A House committee last week voted 62-2 against DP World's plan. But the committee rejected several Democratic amendments, including a wide-ranging provision that would have added $3.4 billion for port security. That's among the amendments Democrats are expected to push as early as Wednesday. For weeks, debate over port security has overshadowed the bulk of the spending measure, which provides $67.6 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $19.1 billion in new money for hurricane relief and rebuilding along the Gulf Coast. That would bring total spending on Iraq and Afghanistan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to nearly $400 billion and total hurricane-related spending to more than $100 million.
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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