Brown: Put an end to the talks with UAE

Jobs and national security are being sold to the highest bidder, Brown said.
YOUNGSTOWN -- In response to the proposed outsourcing of America's port security to the United Arab Emirates, Congressman Sherrod Brown, D-Lorain County, called on Rob Portman, United States Trade Ambassador and a former Ohio Congressman, to halt negotiations with the Mideast nation.
Brown also said he plans to introduce legislation that would strengthen American's national security through trade agreements.
& quot;Trade agreements are no longer simply vehicles for economic development, & quot; Brown said. & quot;In a post-9/11 world, trade agreements are an integral part of our national security and our efforts to combat terrorism. & quot;
Earlier this week, it was discovered that a state-owned company in the UAE had received White House approval on a deal giving them port security ownership in six U.S. ports -- New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.
Two of the 9/11 hijackers were from the UAE. The UAE was one of the few nations to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government.
Despite bipartisan opposition in both the U.S. House and Senate to the deal, President Bush said he would veto any legislation blocking the purchase of U.S. port security to the UAE.
Also found
It was also discovered this week that the U.S. is negotiating a trade agreement with the UAE -- causing some to speculate the reason for Bush's stalwart support of the port security purchase was to allow for a smooth negotiating process.
Brown called the administration's actions acutely irresponsible and largely based on greed.
& quot;It is clear that this administration is focused on one thing -- profits, & quot; Brown said. & quot;They've outsourced our jobs for profit, and now they are outsourcing our national security to make a buck. & quot;
& quot;Republicans in Congress have instituted a pay-to-play system of government that sells our jobs and now our security to the highest bidder. & quot;
Brown's legislation would mandate national security reviews of any nation in which the U.S. plans to negotiate a trade agreement, and would also provide for Congressional oversight -- which Brown said is sorely lacking in Washington, D.C.
"We must stop the rubber stamping of Bush's failed domestic and national policies and implement real Congressional oversight," Brown said.