Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida: News Article: Florida lawmakers gird for ports showdown

WASHINGTON - Florida lawmakers from both political parties - with the exception of Panhandle Democrat Allen Boyd - said Wednesday they are ready for a showdown with the White House over a decision to sell six U.S. port operations to a company run by the United Arab Emirates.

The revelation that an administration panel approved the port transaction has become a political liability in a tough election year. Stalwart allies and Democratic critics of the president are ready to override a threatened veto, if it comes to that.

''Right now there is obviously a confrontation,'' Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, said.

But Boyd, D-Monticello, said the main issue is national security, and he believes lax inspections of ports and container ships is a bigger threat than the proposed deal with the United Arab Emirates.

"The UAE, as I understand it, is a pretty good ally of ours," Boyd said earlier this week. "They certainly allowed us to, militarily, stage from over there and helped us in a lot of our efforts in the Middle East.

"Experts will tell you that they think the next terrorist attack is going to be a dirty bomb, coming in one of those containers," Boyd said.

While not ready to condemn the deal, Boyd believes Congress should exercise its oversight authority and check it out.

Whether the showdown will escalate to a presidential veto and a congressional override remains to be seen. Nelson said he's prepared to help override a veto based on what he knows now.

Florida Republicans and Democrats said President Bush has been inexplicably ''tone deaf'' to public uproar over the proposal to transfer shipping operations in Miami, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans and Philadelphia to Dubai Ports World management.

If the Dubai firm were to hire just one or two terrorist sympathizers, they could gain access to U.S. port security secrets and use that knowledge to attack other ports such as the Port of Canaveral, said Rep. Tom Feeney, a conservative Republican who represents part of Florida's Space Coast.

In defending the seaports deal, Bush said the United Arab Emirates is an ally in the U.S. war on terrorism and the matter was properly vetted. The country has been identified as a stopping-off point for al-Qaida operatives and their cash prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Although the Bush administration may have satisfied itself that the ports deal poses no national security threat, that's not what soccer moms and Little League dads are thinking, said Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican whose congressional district stretches from St. Lucie County to Charlotte County.

''If it hits the Little League, you know we're onto something that has some potency,'' Foley said.

Foley is crafting legislation that many Florida lawmakers are prepared to support that would require congressional scrutiny of such transactions in the future.

The congressman was among the first to bring attention to the ports deal last week in a news conference with other Capitol Hill Republicans and Democrats.

Foley complained that the Bush administration has left lawmakers in the dark with no answers for worried constituents.

Nelson is particularly concerned that Bush nominated a former Dubai Ports World executive to head the U.S. Maritime Administration, which oversees U.S. civilian ports, commercial shipping and some aspects of port security.

''Is there not a conflict of interest with this guy?'' Nelson said.

Nelson said he would block Senate action on the confirmation of David Sanborn until the Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing to let senators fully explore Sanborn's tenure as a Dubai Ports World executive.

A spokesman for the committee had no immediate response. However, the committee scheduled a hearing for March 2 to investigate the broader questions surrounding the ports deal.

Sanborn's employment with Dubai Ports World was disclosed at a Feb. 7 confirmation hearing, but lawmakers didn't know then the company had been approved to take over six U.S. port operations currently run by Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., a publicly held British company.

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Orlando, was traveling in Spain and could not be reached for an interview. His press office released the following statement:

“In a post 9/11 world, there's no question that port security has become a high concern. We need to take a better look at current policy to determine whether foreign, state-owned operators are appropriate managers of our ports," the statement said.

“The administration has done a good job of protecting the homeland, but this particular deal, in light of the concerns raised, ought to be further reviewed."

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