Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are proposing legislation that would block a Dubai-owned company from taking over operations at several US ports, brushing aside a veto threat from President George W. Bush.
"We want to make sure that the security of our ports are in America's hands," said Representative Jerry Lewis, whose House Appropriations Committee was to approve the measure yesterday.
The move marks the latest step in a Republican revolt in Congress unlike any other in Bush's five years in office. The president has yet to veto any legislation, and GOP leaders have been careful to avoid sending him anything he wouldn't sign.
But now, six months before an election, they have decided to challenge him. All 435 House seats are up for election in November, and Republican Bush's extremely low popularity in the polls has some people saying the party could lose its majority in the House.
"We're not going to let the Democrats get to the right of us on national security," Republican Representative Peter King, the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, said recently.
The legislation is expected to reach the House floor next week as part of a US$91 billion measure for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and aid for Gulf States recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Republican House leaders informed the White House staff of their intention on Tuesday at a House leadership meeting that was also attended by the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Ken Mehlman. He did not respond when House Republicans detailed the legislation, according to meeting participants.
Efforts by the Bush administration to quell the controversy have failed on Capitol Hill, and voters are largely opposed to the DP World plan.
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