White House fights bid to halt ports deal

Legislators are worried about a backlash on election day.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- The White House, fighting public opinion and anxious Republican lawmakers, worked against the odds Wednesday to prevent Congress from blocking the transfer of some U.S. port terminals to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates.
Republicans in the House of Representatives, publicly snubbing President Bush, inserted language to scuttle the deal into an emergency spending bill for hurricane relief and the war in Iraq.
In the Senate, a bill to restrict lobbying practices and tighten ethics rules came to a standstill when Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., tried to amend it with his proposal to undo the ports deal.
The public is driving this issue, not Bush or Congress. Polls show that more than two-thirds of Americans oppose the deal. Members of Congress report that calls to their offices against the deal are overwhelming.
"It's the biggest calling volume since the [Clinton] impeachment," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. "Those calls were mixed, for or against the impeachment. These are universally opposed."
Foley and others said the outcry began last month after radio talk-show host Michael Savage raged against the deal on his show.
"Michael often has a keen ear for what's going to be a hot-button issue. He certainly saw this and understood, quickly grasped this was an issue that was going to be incendiary," said Tom Taylor, the editor of Inside Radio magazine.
Reason for panic
Lawmakers are trying to catch up to public opinion before they answer to voters in November. That's especially true in the House, whose members face re-election every two years.
In the Senate, whose members serve six-year terms and thus are less susceptible to momentary passions, Republicans tried to buy the president some time while Democrats pushed for a quick vote against the deal.
The transaction would shift the management of several terminals in six major U.S. ports to Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates, through its acquisition of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., a British company.
The Bush administration's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approved the deal in January. After the uproar, Dubai Ports World agreed to undergo a further 45-day investigation by the administration, which is under way.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush hadn't backed down from his vow last month to veto any legislation that halted the deal, but that the administration was open to discussions.
The House appears headed toward voting to kill the deal.
"I've heard from my constituents pretty strong views about a foreign-owned company managing U.S. ports," said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "We want to make sure the security of our ports is in American hands."
Lewis' amendment, which the committee approved 62-2, would prevent the federal government from permitting "the acquisition of any leases, contracts, rights, or other obligations of P & amp;O ... by Dubai Ports World or any other legal entity affiliated with or controlled by Dubai Ports World."
The full House is expected to vote on the measure next week.