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Bush, House Republicans at Odds Over Ports NewsMax.com Wires WASHINGTON -- President Bush stands by his support of a Dubai-owned company's entry into U.S port operations, the White House said Wednesday as House Republicans ignored a veto threat and moved to stop the plan. "The president's position is unchanged," said Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary. "We're continuing to work closely with Congress. We recognize that some members have concerns. The lines of communication are open," McClellan told reporters on Air Force One while traveling with the president to New Orleans. "There are a lot of conversations going on between the company and Congress and the administration." Back in Washington, House Republicans prepared legislation that would block DP World from taking over significant management of terminals at six U.S. ports. Senate GOP leaders signaled that they may be open to the effort as well. While many senators oppose the DP World takeover, even the staunchest critics have said Congress should wait to vote on legislation until after the administration completes its 45-day investigation into potential security risks. Story Continues Below
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and several Republican committee chairmen met Wednesday with Treasury Secretary John Snow, whose department oversees the multi-agency committee that approved the DP World takeover. A Frist aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the meeting was private, said the majority leader emphasized that "the president's position will be overrun by Congress" if the administration fails to aggressively and clearly communicate with lawmakers during that period. "We are going to send a very clear signal that we want to have American interests secured by leaders in America," Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said Tuesday. His House Appropriations Committee planned to attach the legislation Wednesday to a $91 billion measure for states recovering from Hurricane Katrina and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Offering few specifics, Lewis said only that his legislation would not single out any one country or company but would effectively prevent DP World from operating U.S. port terminals. He suggested that he would be open to changing the legislation, if needed, to get the Senate on board and reach middle ground with the White House. However, Lewis said, "we could have a confrontation at the other end." A vote on the entire measure is expected next week, setting up a fight with the president, who wants the money but has threatened to veto any measure that would block or delay DP World being able to operate U.S. port terminals as part of its takeover of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., a British company that holds contracts at several U.S. ports. The House Republican maneuver to kill the ports plan is a direct challenge to a White House used to getting its own way. Until now, GOP leaders have avoided sending the president any measures he wouldn't sign. And although he's issued threats, Bush has yet to veto any legislation in more than five years in office. Then came the disclosure that the Bush administration approved United Arab Emirates-based company's purchase of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation. Fearing security breaches in an era of terrorism, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have spent weeks lambasting the takeover that would mean a foreign government would be managing terminals at American ports. Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, controls the company. Efforts by the Bush administration to quell the controversy have failed. Criticism has persisted even though the administration reluctantly agreed to conduct a broader investigation into potential security risks of DP World's plans in hopes of stunting a potential Republican revolt. "The political reality is, if you have three weeks to explain it, and you can't explain it ... it's time to end it," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Voters are largely opposed to the DP World plan, and that's something Republicans are sensitive to eight months before an election that will determine whether the GOP continues to control the House and Senate. House Republicans feared that if they did not move to block the deal now, Democrats would force their own vote that would be successful. That would only invite criticism of the GOP's national security record, which historically has been the party's strength. "This has become a very hot political potato," House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "I have seen it in my district. I have seen it every place I have been." So, instead of backing Bush on the DP World takeover, House Republicans are largely reflecting their constituents' views and distancing themselves from a president's whose popularity has declined. Bush's approval rating has dropped significantly, to 34 percent in one poll, near the lowest levels of his presidency.
© 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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