Mrs. MALONEY. I thank the gentlelady for yielding and for calling this important hearing.
A great number of questions have been raised about the security of our ports and the secretive approval process that led to this deal. Unless the President and the Congress act promptly, in the next day or so, the Government of Dubai will buy, over the strong objection of the American people, the company that operates 20 U.S. ports, including 7 of our largest ports, among them the ports of New York and New Jersey, which remain key terrorist targets. The Administration hastily approved this deal, even without the 45-day investigation of national security concerns required by law.
They approved this deal without consulting with or even informing the Congress, the American people, or the affected communities.
The American people find this deeply troubling. Wherever I go in New York, I am stopped by people. They literally walk across the street and ask me, "How can our government be so stupid?"
Clearly, the Administration's approval process reflects a pre-9/11 mentality. Our country cannot afford it, and the underlying law needs to be updated to reflect the post-9/11 world. We need to be focusing on how to improve national security at our ports and elsewhere, and not on how to do an end run around the national security reviews.
The law requires a 45-day investigation whenever an acquisition by a foreign government-and I quote-"could affect national security." Neither the President nor any of the 12 agencies involved in the government approval process thought that this $6.9 billion transaction to a foreign government in any way "could affect national security?" At the very least, we need to change the Administration's definition of national security. We need to inform them that our ports and the country's infrastructure are terrorist targets and national security concerns.
The 9/11 Commission Report concluded that terrorists have the opportunity-and I quote-"to do harm as great or greater in maritime and surface transportation as the 9/11 attacks." We need to ask probing questions today about a foreign government takeover of port management, and the process by which this decision was made. We need to see the objections of the Coast Guard or any other agency that raised questions.
And I might add that we would be asking the same questions if this agreement involved other foreign countries, such as China, Russia, Venezuela, or Pakistan. This is not discrimination, as has been alleged by the President. It is about protecting our national security.
I am not reassured by the new offer of a 45-day review. The President has made very clear that he will approve this deal no matter what any review shows. I am asking that this committee have access to all documents relating to the new investigation and to the prior review, every single bit of paper.
I am particularly interested in any objections. In a $6.9 billion deal to a foreign government, you would think there would be some objections somewhere, or some review, not a decision to just bypass the national security required 45-day review. So it is important that we see all of these documents.