Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) today sent a letter to President George W. Bush calling for him to delay the approval of a sale that would place the security of six U.S. ports under the management of a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates.

In several recent media reports, the American public has learned of the approval by the Bush Administration's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of a $6.8 billion sale of the British company, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, that manages ports in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Jersey, Miami and New Orleans to Dubai Ports World, a business controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

"This matter has significant implications for national security and requires thorough scrutiny by Congress and all Americans, not just a select group of government bureaucrats. As such, I have asked President Bush to delay this deal from moving forward until we can conduct thorough congressional hearings on the issue and other experts can examine these matters. Rushing into a deal that hands over the security of six of our major seaports - including ports near Northeastern Pennsylvania like those in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey - to a company controlled by a country that once harbored terrorists could ultimately prove to be a grave mistake. We should prevent such a mistake from occurring if at all possible. We therefore need the time to conduct an appropriate review of these matters," Congressman Kanjorski said.

Below is the text of the letter:

February 21, 2006

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As you are no doubt aware, Dubai Ports World, an entity controlled by the government of the United Arab Emirates, recently received approval to take over the operations of six major U.S. seaports, including several within or near Pennsylvania.  This short-sighted bureaucratic decision causes me considerable concern, not only for its effects on U.S. trade policy, but also especially for America's national security.

This determination, in my view, warrants careful scrutiny and review by all interested parties, including the U.S. Congress.  I am especially concerned that while the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has reviewed and approved the $6.8 billion sale of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company to Dubai Ports World, that review - the very basis for this approval - failed, as I understand, to include collecting information from outside sources.

For example, it neither included background checks of senior managers of Dubai Ports World nor a study of how the company screens its workers.  The failure to conduct such basic evaluations during this time of heightened national security concerns demands a more thorough vetting, particularly in light of the fact that at least two of the 9/11 hijackers lived in the United Arab Emirates prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and that entities within that country also helped to finance the attacks on American soil.

Consistent with all applicable laws and regulations, I therefore urge you to immediately freeze any approval of this sale until hearings are held by the U.S. Congress and a more thorough review of this deal by the federal government and the American public is completed.

Respectfully yours,

Paul E. Kanjorski

Member of Congress