WASHINGTON, DC - Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Malden), a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, responded today to reports that the Bush Administration’s approval of the purchase by a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-owned company of a firm currently operating at six U.S. ports would also give the company partial control over operations at 16 other U.S. ports, including the Port of Boston. Rep. Markey has recently introduced legislation to require more thorough investigations into proposed foreign takeovers of U.S. critical infrastructure such as ports.

“The Bush Administration continues to put commerce over common sense homeland security concerns,” Rep. Markey said.

“While this would be a significant issue requiring a thorough examination of the national security consequences of a foreign government buying its way into our nation’s ports regardless of the ports in question, the inclusion of the Port of Boston, the site where the millennium bomber was smuggled into the country, hits especially close to home.

“The 9/11 Commission identified the UAE as a ‘persistent counterterrorism problem.’  The UAE was one of only three nations to recognize the Taliban regime, two of the 9/11 hijackers had ties to the UAE, and the UAE financial system was used to help fund the September 11th attacks.  More recently, it has been determined that the UAE also was used by Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan as a base for his operation to sell nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya,” Rep. Markey added.

Rep. Markey’s legislation would:

• Limit Takeovers of Critical Homeland Infrastructure:
  • In cases where the purchaser is a government-owned company based in a foreign country, the transaction must be approved not only by CFIUS, but also by the President and be subject to congressional review.
  • If the purchaser is a foreign company, but not government-controlled, the transaction must undergo a 45-day investigation and be found to not undermine national security before it can be approved. 
• Increase the 30-day Evaluation Period:  According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), “Several officials [participating in the CFIUS process] commented that, in complex cases, it is difficult to complete analyses…within 23 days.” CFIUS’s guidance requires member agencies to determine if they are likely to object to the transaction by the 23rd day of the 30-day review period. The legislation would double this initial evaluation period to 60 days and permit any participant to be granted an automatic 10-day extension, separate from CFIUS’s 45-day investigatory period.
• Require Reports to Congress:  According to Treasury Department regulations, CFIUS reviews of any proposed transactions are confidential, and there is no congressional oversight of CFIUS decisions.  The legislation would require CFIUS to report annually to Congress on the number of notifications it received during the year and the action taken after each notification. 

“To justify warrantless wiretaps of American citizens, President Bush explained that 9/11 changed his thinking about the measures needed to secure our country.  Lessons learned from the 9/11 attacks should have triggered a comprehensive review of the UAE port deal by the Bush Administration.  I urge the Congress to move quickly on this legislation in order that we can know with certainty that outsourcing critical homeland security infrastructure doesn’t represent a security threat.  The security of U.S. cities and towns should drive our decisions about who owns the critical infrastructure that could be used by terrorists to smuggle a nuclear weapon into our country and inflict severe damage on both the city of Boston and our nation,” Rep. Markey concluded.

For a copy of the bill and more information on Rep. Markey’s work on homeland security, visit http://markey.house.gov

 H.R. 4820: the "Port Operations Require Tough Scrutiny (PORTS) Act of 2006" (53.61 KB)