U.S. Port Security Debate

Thursday, May 18, 2006

By Gloria Borger, CBS Evening News

February 23, 2006

BOB SCHIEFFER: There is a new angle to the story that has set Republican congressional leaders against the president. That story that the administration had approved an arrangement to allow an Arab company to take over operations at six American ports. The congressional leaders claim they were blindsided by the deal and want it stopped. Well, it turns out the president, of all people, didn't know about it, either. Here's Gloria Borger.

GLORIA BORGER: If there's one thing Republican leaders and the White House can agree on, it's that neither knew the port deal was even in the works. On Capitol Hill, it sparked a rebellion.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (Chairman, Homeland Security Cmte.): As far as I know, no member of the Senate received any advanced warning, consultation or briefing about this decision.

BORGER: Susan Collins runs the Homeland Security Committee. She didn't get briefed until last night.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (Chairman, Homeland Security Cmte.): And I'm just baffled by that.

BORGER: Here's one explanation - the president and his senior staff couldn't brief Congress because they didn't know. That's because the panel that makes these calls, the Committee on Foreign Investments, is not run by the high-level cabinet members listed on its website. Those guys usually rubber-stamp decisions made by staffers.

Richard Perle is a Bush ally who sat on the panel during the Reagan years.

RICHARD PERLE (Fmr. Assistant Secretary of Defense): The committee almost never met and when it deliberated, which it did from time to time, it was usually at a pretty low bureaucratic level.

BORGER: So is it a joke?

PERLE: I think it's a bit of a joke, if we were serious about scrutinizing foreign ownership and foreign control, particularly since 9/11.

BORGER: Bureaucratic decision-making and lack of congressional scrutiny is what the 9/11 Commission warned against. Former commission member, Tim Roemer.

TIM ROEMER (9/11 Commission): First of all, Congress needs to be more involved in the oversight on these kinds of issues, should a foreign government be responsible for our port security.

BORGER: If more people had been aware, the political firestorm might have been avoided.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (Chairman, Homeland Security Cmte.): It is not hard to figure out that a transaction of this nature is going to raise a lot of red flags.

BORGER: And Bob, you can bet that there's been a lot of briefings around town today. And as for that presidential veto threat, congressional sources tell CBS News that it was a matter of foreign policy. The president wanted to make it clear that his administration is not anti-Arab. Bob?

BOB SCHIEFFER: All right. Well, thank you very much, Gloria.