Bush Feeling Pressure On Ports

House Appropriations Committee Votes 62-2 To Block Deal

(CBS/AP)  In an election-year repudiation of President Bush, a House panel dominated by Republicans voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to block a Dubai-owned firm from taking control of some U.S port operations.

By 62-2, the Appropriations Committee voted to bar DP World, run by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, from holding leases or contracts at U.S. ports.

Mr. Bush has promised to veto any such measure passed by Congress, but there is widespread public opposition to the deal and the GOP fears losing its advantage on the issue of national security in this fall's elections.

"This is a national security issue," said Rep. Jerry Lewis, the chairman of the panel. The California Republican said the legislation would "keep America's ports in American hands."

As the committee acted, Democrats on the other side of the Capitol were clamoring for a vote on the same issue in the GOP-led Senate.

"We believe an overwhelming majority will vote to end the deal," said Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, whose attempt to force the issue to the floor brought the Senate to a late-afternoon standstill.

By its vote, the House committee attached the ports language to a must-pass $91 billion measure financing hurricane recovery and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, making it nearly veto-proof, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. The full House could consider that measure as early as next week.

While GOP Senate leaders hope to delay a quick showdown with Mr. Bush on the issue, the House panel, including members of Mr. Bush's own party, showed a willingness to defy him.

"One of the most vulnerable situations facing America is our ports of entry," said Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee. "Whoever's responsible for those ports of entry should be American."

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio., said allowing the DP World takeover to proceed — and ignoring the public outcry over it — would be irresponsible. "The American people elected us to do something when an issue like this comes up," she said.

Only Reps. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., and Jim Moran, D-Va., voted against the measure.

"It is premature, we don't have enough information and ... it may turn out to be unnecessary," Moran said. Added Kolbe: "I just don't think this is the right thing to do."

The House and Senate developments underscored the extent to which the politically charged issue has come to dominate the agenda in recent days, with Republicans and Democrats competing to demonstrate the strongest anti-terrorism credentials in the run-up to midterm elections.

The House move by Mr. Bush's fellow Republicans was a direct challenge to a president who is at a low point in his presidency and to a White House that has been accustomed to getting its own way. It also comes during an election year, and as voter disapproval over the administration's decision to let DP World control some U.S. port operations shows no signs of abating.

"The president's position is unchanged," Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, told reporters while traveling on Air Force One with the president to New Orleans. "We're continuing to work closely with Congress. We recognize that some members have concerns. The lines of communication are open."

Efforts by the Bush administration to quell the controversy have failed. Many Congressional Republicans have election year jitters about the proposed deal, CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer reports. Criticism has persisted even though the administration reluctantly agreed to conduct a broader investigation into potential security risks of DP World's plans in hopes of stunting a potential Republican revolt.

"The political reality is, if you have three weeks to explain it, and you can't explain it ... it's time to end it," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and many of his rank-and-file — including DP World critics — want to wait for the administration to finish its 45-day investigation into security risks before deciding whether to try to scuttle the company's plan in that chamber.